Writing useful requests for help

[Anonymous]

Can we gather together here in this thread, some advice for people posting "help me!" type messages for the first time, to make it easier for us to responde in a useful manner?

OK, I'll start...

Please, folks, understand that we are just people, we are not the official O2 help desk, (although the support here is so good you may think it is).  There are knowledgeable and dedicated people here who want to help you, free of charge, in their own tie, so don't get angry with us, please!

Please don't post any personal information - you have no privacy here, and somebody else could use it.  In any case, we have no access to O2 accounts or anything else that would require your personal information.

Please DO tell us everything from the begining, and lay out your question in a clear and precise manner.  Include details of your handset, (make and model), and your monthly contract or pay as you go tariff.

Tell us what you've already tried, and how you want the problem solved.

Keep calm and give as more details as needed.  More is usually better.

Avoid repeating the same things, because it creates more messages and makes the thread longer and slower to read.

We know that account and tecnical problems can be very worrying and cause further stress, but please remain focused and understand that we really are trying our best to help you.

Almost all problems are solved quickly and easily if people follow these guidelines.

Thanks.

[Cleoriff]

I agree @Anonymous I never thought this would be a pre-written template format. This would be a guide for those seeking help ....AND those giving it?

We are all individual and have our own way of responding surely? I wouldn't be interested in getting involved if  anyone was telling me that I must  'follow this format' ...

As someone who types slowly it would take me a long time to make sure I had 'ticked every box of answers available'...

[Anonymous]

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@Cleoriff wrote:

I agree @Anonymous I never thought this would be a pre-written template format. This would be a guide for those seeking help ....AND those giving it?

It was only ever meant as a guide for people requesting help, and I think I made it pretty open and flexible.  A tick the box thing would be awful, I would never suggest that.

But if people don't tell us basic information we just have to ask for it, which means about twenty posts by different people before it gets anywhere.  Something like this:

A "my phone doesn't work"

A " is anyone there? My phone doesn't work!"

B "hello A, have you tried turning it on?"

C "hello B, what make of phone is it?"

A "my phone IS switched on!!!"

C "hello A, maybe the mast is broken"

D "hello C, B, and A"

D "what phone is it?"

C "I think it's a note 3"

E "Get a note 4"

B "I think it's a blackberry"

C "what' that?"

D "I was going to ask the same question!"

A "It's an iphone! Why won't anyone help me?"

F "have you considered buying a note 4?"

You know who the last one is 

[Beenherebefore]

There are may things wrong with any Lithium forum but most often on here it's the lack of control by Admin of the members' activities.

The style of control has been decided by O2 who wish the forum to be a "Community" with as much freedom as possible given to members.

@Anonymous the result of this freedom is what you have described. 

[Cleoriff]

What would also help is this....

Having the facility to see (as you are about to press send on your reply) the very LAST post made. You could then amend yours before you send it...thus avoiding duplication of posts OR going off at a tangent!

At the moment Lithium does not lend itself to this facilty...another forum I belong to does  (powered by phpBB)

EDIT @Beenherebefore post is an example of what I mean. I was actually replying to YOU (slow typing) and when I posted ...there was his post.... (fortunately nothing to do with what I said... but a case in point...)

[Anonymous]

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Beenherebefore wrote:

There are may things wrong with any Lithium forum but most often on here it's the lack of control by Admin of the members' activities.

The style of control has been decided by O2 who wish the forum to be a "Community" with as much freedom as possible given to members.

@Anonymous the result of this freedom is what you have described. 

You are right, but it does allow a few users who are not interested in helping to overload the board with churn, and those who could actually help the OP are stuck wading through 12 pages of waffle.  There has to be a better way.  That recent thread about receiving an unwanted sim card was rediculous.  A waste of time for everybody involved.

Most of that was caused by the OP flooding the board with confusing messages.

[Anonymous]

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@Cleoriff wrote:

What would also help is this....

Having the facility to see (as you are about to press send on your reply) the very LAST post made. You could then amend yours before you send it...thus avoiding duplication of posts OR going off at a tangent!

At the moment Lithium does not lend itself to this facilty...another forum I belong to does  (powered by phpBB)

Good point - it's annoying to post a "you need to phone CS" message, hit send, and find that whilst you've been typing, 16 other people have already posted the same advice.  Or that you write a long explaination about one thing and then see a post that makes you realise that the problem lies elsewhere.  So your post just ends up like a magnet for further posts criticising it when it was actually a genuine attempt to help 

[Cleoriff]

PS apologies for referring to you as telephone line in an earlier post...I meant @Anonymous of course

My time to edit has expired

[Cleoriff]

Additionally...the issue of allowing us to see the latest post...is something that @Beenherebefore has been discussing with the community management. I am unsure as to how much progress has been made?

[Anonymous]

I wondered who telephone line was, I thought it was a new user 

I am so unimaginative with usernames, aren't I?  I mean I could have been pink_floppy_bunny_with_wiskers_82738, but instead I choose telephone_user 

[Cleoriff]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I wondered who telephone line was, I thought it was a new user 

I am so unimaginative with usernames, aren't I?  I mean I could have been pink_floppy_bunny_with_wiskers_82738, but instead I choose telephone_user 

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@  telephone line is another user...when I was @mentioning YOUR name a number of options come up. I clicked the wrong one..

(And thank God you didn't call yourself pink fluffy bunny etc etc etc...The time it would take me to type THAT lot in.... well I wouldn't bother.... I would just ignore you instead )