Hey. So, we're writing because we're people who spend a lot of time in #jquery helping others -- people like you who are trying to get their bearings with jQuery or JavaScript or who are maybe struggling through some problem that's got them particularly stumped.
We've noticed that you've been kind of, well, dominating the channel a lot lately -- sort of like you're talking through every problem you're running into while you're working on your app, and sometimes repeating your inquiries when you don't get a response. We want to be helpful, we really do, but the constant stream of questions is ... well, it's led to a lot of us just tuning you out, and that's probably not what you want.
So: our biggest request is that you show a little more effort at working through your problems on your own, rather than announcing them in the channel shortly after you encounter them. Below are a few other suggestions; some are based on our experience, while others are from the excellent post about help vampires. Make of them what you will :)
- Do your due diligence. Make sure you're up to speed on the ins and outs of JavaScript. Not sure where you stand? js-assessment will help you figure it out, and MDN is an invaluable resource.
- Read the code. The reason that something is working or not working is often clear if you read the source code. You'll discover a wealth of new JS techniques while you're at it.
- Keep troubleshooting. Often we learn that it’s easier to give up and ask for help rather than persisting—when we’d get our breakthrough if we’d only delay giving up for another 10 minutes. Respect yourself, go a little further before giving up.
- Use a debugger. Step debugging into your program is the best way to find out exactly what your code is doing, at the time that it's doing it. If you don't know how, learn. Don't expect that someone else to go dig in and find the state of your program before you do.
- Do rubber duck debugging. It's extremely rare that you can't reduce a problem such that you can demonstrate it in jsfiddle or jsbin -- you should almost never need to ask people to look at your full dev environment to observe an issue. If your problem doesn't exist when you try to replicate it in jsbin or jsfiddle, then take the time to figure out what's different between your test case and your actual code. Rubber duck debugging can be helpful in these cases.
- Google, of course. Google partial error messages, add software names to your queries, and generally try at least 3 or 4 searches before you give it up as hopeless.
- Mailing lists, forums, and newsgroups. Chances are, you’re not the first person on the Earth to have this problem. Luckily we live in an age where we can search the past. Check out these resources next.
- Docs. Sometimes they seem impenetrable, but give it a whack. The more you learn, the easier the documentation will be to understand and decipher.
- Ask your question—but phrase it differently. Instead of asking your question directly, ask “Has anyone has seen this problem?” or “Can anyone point me in the right direction?” Likely as not, someone will have been there before, and they might know a blog posting or other resource which can help you out. This way, you show you are respectful of their time, and understand your problem is (probably) not unique.
<3,
#jquery