How to ask for help and get an answer

Perhaps the most common and frustrating problem we face when trying to answer forum questions is the lack of information provided by the person asking the question. Here are some examples:

• I try to edit a video in [my editing application] but it doesn't work. Help!
• I've got a new camera but the images don't look very good. What's wrong?
• Why doesn't my website work properly in [some browser]?

There is no way anyone can answer these questions because there's not enough information to even guess what the problem is.

If you want an answer, you must provide as much information as possible (and probably a lot more than you might think). For example, if your question is about editing video, include:

1. The name and version of your editing application (e.g. "Sony Vegas 10").
2. Details about your computer and operating system (e.g. "Windows 7, 64-bit, Intel-based PC, quad-core processor, 4GB RAM").
3. Exactly what you are trying to do (e.g. "I'm trying to import an mpg file recorded on a Sony HDR-SR1 camcorder into Adobe Premiere Pro CS6").
4. Exactly what goes wrong (e.g. "The video imports okay, I can open the file and add it to the timeline but the audio track is missing").
5. Things you've tried to do to identify or fix the problem (e.g. "I can import the file into Sony Vegas and the audio works fine, so it must be related to Premiere Pro").
6. Anything else you think might be relevant.

So the rule is....

Provide as much information as you can!

No-one will criticize you for providing too much information, but if you don't provide enough then your question will probably just be ignored.