When do you decide to post for help on forums?
polycounter lvl 12
Hello. What is your personal rule for asking help? Being from an area that does not have a super large game art community, I do most of my work alone. I try not to abuse people's time, but the alternative is that you'll spend half your time just doing technical support work instead of art. It's the reason I don't post work. I can't finish anything because I keep having to drop what I'm doing and resolve some issue every few hours.
I've always used the Extra Credits rule in one of their episodes. If it takes more than an hour, hit the forums. If you look at my posting history, most of my questions are super basic things most people probably already know. But I've noticed it's much easier to get the ball rolling once you have the foundational tools needed to troubleshoot more advanced problems, so that would not be a problem... right? What criteria do you guys as individuals meet before posting?
I've always used the Extra Credits rule in one of their episodes. If it takes more than an hour, hit the forums. If you look at my posting history, most of my questions are super basic things most people probably already know. But I've noticed it's much easier to get the ball rolling once you have the foundational tools needed to troubleshoot more advanced problems, so that would not be a problem... right? What criteria do you guys as individuals meet before posting?
Replies
The conclusion I've reached is making props/environments takes a looooooooong time, and that the time waiting on an answer can be better spent just finishing a prop or drawing instead.
One solution I found is it's better to just bookmark a crap ton of tutorials on the internet, go through all of them first, and only ask questions to see if they line up with what I read on the internets.
Kinda veer to the other side of the equation, so don't specifically ask for a workaround solution or bug fix but tend too sort out an issue via testing/prototyping. It's pretty rare that I'd pose a query for help, possible personality 'thing' I guess.
Though I've found lurking about when stuck on something, that WIPs on occasion can throw up a feasible option or two every now-'n'-again.
Now when you post its like something you do as well as testing out your problem on a humble cube. Helping people with their questions seems to get you help when you need it yourself though.
Also when you post a question, get no responses and find the answer yourself it seems courteous to write up the answer in the same thread so people can find your solution in a search. Not just: I found the answer thanks.
I probably spend a lot more time troubleshooting than I should, but I'm really stuck in the 'do it msyelf' mentality, for better or worse.
1. Trial and error , can I figure out this problem on my own ( Or find a workaround )
2. If not , can I find it out on google , I always assume the problem has been had before by someone else
3. If that doesn't work , I ask people I know if they know a solution
4. If that doesn't work , post on polycount
For critique
I always ask if I'm not sure or uncomfortable with how something looks. Google hangout , slack , not so much on polycount anymore though.
For things about a studio
How or why something was done this way etc.
1. I ask people I know if they know an answer
2. I potentially make a thread if they didn't know an answer and I try to contact someone who works at that studio.
I think How To Ask Questions The Smart Way should be required reading for all forum users. But hey, what do I know?
http://polycount.com/discussion/63361/information-about-polycount-new-member-introductions/p1#asking
We are here to help, but like to see people who try to help themselves.
- Include your findings in your post, so we know what you've tried already.
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way.Always Search
As points 1 and 2 already mentioned, you should search for answers to your questions before posting a new thread.
You should also consider performing a search before posting a new thread if you think there is a good chance someone should have already made such a post - for example there may be a new art package, plugin, game or film just released that you want to announce.
If you are getting an error message, the fastest way to find the answer is to use that message as your Search text. For example, you can search the forums for "Your comment will appear after it is approved" This works great in web searches too.
As has been mentioned above, this stuff is all about problem-solving, experimenting, constantly researching and learning and bettering yourself by just doing.
I've seen a lot of outright lazy questions posted here and not surprisingly the posters soon disappear from the forums. Even after a decade doing this stuff I still look up official documentation, be it 3dsmax or Zbrush or any of the other half dozen packages I might be using. That's my first port of call if I forget something or some tool I haven't used in a while.
Google searching is also a more or less foolproof research tool with the amount of info available these days.
Having said all that I genuinely enjoy helping others with their problems, if I can, as that's what the community is all about. It's just the idiotic or lazy shit that pisses me off. Passion and perseverance is a must in CG and when I come across the lazy attitude, especially with the practically infinite resources beginners have available these days compared to 10 or 12 years ago, it just pisses me off.
So by all means post your problems but, please, don't be lazy about it. Did I mention that it pisses me off?
If someone makes a claim on here, it's open for anyone to challenge. Usually if there's information that's blatantly wrong, it's instantly nitpicked at. But emphasis on theory. I have noticed some biases in answers, that unfortunately, can skew people's perceptions of what is actually right or wrong.
daniellooartist said:
It seems like the general consensus is that as long as you list what you HAVE tried, and played with it for more than 5 minutes, then the boards won't tell you to GTFO.
By and large, I'd agree but also dependant upon how a particular query was framed as well. So being civil from the outset will also mitigate a potentially tossed GTFO...in your face.