How to ask for help without annoying the people that help you

[size="5"][b][color="Sienna"]Earth-Fury's[/color] [color="Orange"]Constructive Rant Tutorial[/color][/b][/size]

This is currently a work-in-progress. Criticism is not only appreciated, but needed.

[size="4"][b][color="Yellow"]Preface[/color][/b][/size]
This tutorial comes from me being pissed off a lot while browsing the Triggers & Scripts and Deneral Development forums. What pisses me off? People asking for help in a manner that makes my hobby of helping people painful, or people asking for big handouts. Essentially, people unwilling to help people help them, and people unwilling to learn.

You are asking people to help you. People who don't have to help you. People who take time away from their own projects to be part of the community. If you want help, there is something more important than anything else you must do. It is the main message in this tutorial: it is to help those that want to help you to help you!

And please, read the [url=http://wc3campaigns.net/faq.php?faq=wc3c_revived#faq_wc3c_revised_rules]rules[/url]. They exist for a reason.

[size="4"][b][color="Yellow"]The 5 Things You Should Do When Posting a Thread[/color][/b][/size]
So, you have a problem, or don't know how to do something. Go to the forum that best suits what your question is about, and post a thread! But don't post a bad thread that makes it hard to help you. Here are some 'rules' you should follow:

[b][color="Red"]1:[/color][/b] Read your post. Is it typed in a way that is easy to understand? Are terms that are not known to all defined? Is it riddled with typos?
[b][color="Red"]2a:[/color][/b] Write out as many details as you can about the effect you want to achieve. Write down every detail!
[b][color="Red"]2b:[/color][/b] Write out as many details as you can about the problem you are having.
[b][color="Red"]3:[/color][/b] Tell people what you have tried to do to obtain the desired effect, or solve the current issue. You don't always need to post a screen shot, a trigger, or snippet of code. But, when you really think it is where the issue lays, and it can better communicate what you want to do / whats wrong then words can, then please do post it.
[b][color="Red"]4:[/color][/b] Make the thread's title describe your issue. This may seem small, but it helps those that help you. And that makes people like me quicker to help you if we can.
[b][color="Red"]5:[/color][/b] Re-read your thread, and make sure you have followed the previous 4 points.

[size="4"][b][color="Yellow"]The 5 Things You Should Do When Continuing a Thread[/color][/b][/size]
So, you're thread is posted! If it follows all the rules in the previous section, you shouldn't have to worry about continuing the thread. But, sometimes, you need to clarify something, or you want to expand upon your question. Here are some more rules you should follow:

[b][color="Red"]1:[/color][/b] The exact same as the last section. Read your post. Is it typed in a way that is easy to understand? Are terms that are not known to all defined? Is it riddled with typos?
[b][color="Red"]2:[/color][/b] Are you communicating what you want explained, or what you need help understanding? We are not psychic, we need you to explain what you mean!
[b][color="Red"]3:[/color][/b] Post what you have tried relating to previous suggestions or information people have given you. Nothing is more annoying then posting a nice example or answer to the response of “tried it, didn't do what i want”
[b][color="Red"]4:[/color][/b] Remember that people who are here trying to help you may know things you do not. Thats not a bad thing, but ignoring their experiance is likely to make them not waste their time on you. Try to take what experianced users say, and use that information to learn how to make your own map.
[b][color="Red"]5:[/color][/b] Re-read your post. Make sure you have followed these rules.

[size="4"][b][color="Yellow"]The 4 Things You Must Never Do[/color][/b][/size]
[b][color="Red"]1:[/color][/b] Double post. This means posting directly after yourself. There is the exception to this rule, and that is bumping. See #2.
[b][color="Red"]2:[/color][/b] Bump a thread before it has left idle for 48 hours. If a thread has had no replies for 2 days or so, its ok to bump it.
[b][color="Red"]3:[/color][/b] Revive a thread after a few weeks. If a thread is a few weeks old, do no reply to it.
[b][color="Red"]4:[/color][/b] Insult people that try to help you. This should be higher up on the list, but its likely to get you banned. So don't do it.

[size="4"][b][color="Yellow"]Example Threads[/color][/b][/size]
Here are some examples of bad threads, and some examples of good threads:
[table=Bad Example][u][b]Thread Title:[/b][/u][c]
hi guyz hepl me plz!!!!![r]
[u][b]Thread Body:[/b][/u][c]
hi guyz cn u make me a ultimate speel time annhilation from nmk i dont kno jass guyz so dont giveme any jass ok plz plz guyz i really need it 4 this naruto warz map me and my friends r making

just make it 4 me cuz i really need it
[/table]

If you can not see why that is a bad thread, read the rules again. Little information is given, and it is near illegible. A large number of helpfull people will simply ignore such a post, because its impossible to help someone from such a post!

[table=Good Example][u][b]Thread Title:[/b][/u][c]
Need help creating a spell that freezes all units on the map[r]
[u][b]Thread Body:[/b][/u][c]
Hello, I'm new to these forums, and I have a question regarding how to make a spell that is/does the following:[list]Is channeling[*]Has a cast time[*]Freezes every unit of each enemy player on the map[*]Destroys a random building of each player[*]Creates a weather effect on the map[/list]
If this sounds familiar to some of you, it is based off of the spell "Time Annhilation" in the map [url="http://something.com"]Nautical Marine Knights[/url]. I liked the spell, so I decided to make a version of it for myself.

I know that JASS is an advanced scripting language (or something of that sort) for Warcraft 3, but it's something I don't understand. Thus, I would prefer help via GUI commands.

I've gotten the channeling part down, created the weather effect, I've give it a cast time, and I'm using dummy units to cast storm bolt on units to get them to be stopped, but I still have the following problems:[list]The units are still animated when they're stunned[*]I don't know how to destroy a random building[*]My dummy units stay, and only one of them gets removed at the end of the spell[/list]
Here's what I've got so far:
[trigger=Some trigger]Events
Unit - A unit starts the effect of an ability
Conditions
(Ability being cast) equal to Time Rift
Actions
---- Some actions here, etc. This tutorial is not concerned with what is written, only that something is written. ----[/trigger]
How would I fix my above problems? Examples along with explainations would be appreciated!
[/table]

Whats diffrent about this thread? Allot of information is given. Its written well, and easy to read. It defines the problem, what has been tryed, and is kind to those that read it. While asking for a handout, it is obviosue the poster is interested in learning and trying to improve their own skills. This is the type of post I sometimes give people rep for.

[size="4"][b][color="Yellow"]Reputation[/color][/b][/size]
'Rep' is a good way to see how helpfull a person has been in the past. It's not a judging of skill or knoledge, only how good a community member someone is or tries to be. Don't presume someone has less knoledge because they have less reputation, or a lower post count.

While on this subject, let me mention that posting "thank you" is a rather silly thing to do. The reputation system exists so you can show people thanks by giving them reputation. Its also a nice place to leave a comment with your thanks.

[size="4"][b][color="Yellow"]How This Tutorial Helps Helpfull People[/color][/b][/size]
Tired of answering questions with more questions, just to be able to help someone? Tired of dealing with people unwilling to do things for themselves? Tired of people who are just pricks? Well then, link them here, and tell them to learn how to post before they try doing it again. Its your hobby to help people. Don't let them make it suck.

[size="1"][b]Credits to Pyrogasm for the example threads.[/b][/size]
[size="1"][b]Credits to Griffen for ideas.[/b][/size]
[size="1"][b]Credits to the stupid people who pissed me off enogh to write a tutorial.[/b][/size]

[size="1"][b]Edit History:[/b][/size]
[edit]Edited for content, formating, and a few spelling and grammer errors[/edit]