How to report problems effectively

System

Since most of Smug's users are primarily shooters, not computer geeks, it may not always be obvious to them how to write a problem report for technical support that will make the support staff's job easiest -- whether on forums like these or by email.

But it's worth doing, because it makes their job easier, and they can therefore support more cranky bastards like myself. ;-)

I use a terminal emulator for work that's called PuTTY, written by a guy named Simon Tatham, and aside from the program being cool, Simon has also written a short webpage on how to write problem reports like that which is--quite possibly--the best explanation of the topic I've ever seen.

If you use email or the forums to report trouble with SmugMug, you might want to take a look at it, and bookmark it or print it out. I suspect you'll be Andy, Anne, Barb, and Ivar's BFF if you do. :-)

And two thoughts there: use email *or* the forums, not both. If time is an issue, you might be better off sending email; on the other hand, on the forums, someone other than the support staff might have your answer. And secondly... be patient. I'm the poster child for what happens when you aren't. :-} Support staffs do sleep, eat, and watch the Super Bowl occasionally.

System

And to distill that down: if you're reporting a problem with SmugMug, you probably ought to include at least the following information:

• Exact URL where the problem is visible
• Base URL you used to access your site
• Your browser and version number
• Any toolbars or (for firefox) extensions you have installed
• What you expected (spell this out in detail, even if you think it's obvious -- sometimes, the problem is that you expect the wrong thing)
• What you got (if an actual error message, copy it down exactly; screenshots are great)
• Has it ever worked the way you expect? (ie: is this new breakage of something that used to work, or are you trying something new and perhaps not doing it quite right?)

And, of course, there's the other standard litany: things to do to be sure there's a problem:

• Did you refresh?
• Did you "force-refresh"? (On firefox et al, that's Ctrl-F5)
• Did you reboot?
• Did you reinstall Windows? (No, we're only kidding :-)
• Did you try a different browser?
• If your problem is speed, have you installed lori (assuming you're using Firefox), and can you quote load times in seconds for both now and how your page looks in normal conditions
• Alternatively, have you gone to http://smugmug.speedtest.net and what are your download speeds now (and, of course, when things are normal -- run right out now and pull a speed test :-)
• If speeds are bad, with either test, do a 'tracert www.smugmug.com' (or, to your domain name), and paste the results into your message.

And, of course, first of all: make sure your posting has a descriptive title ("Please help!" isn't all that great :-), which will improve the odds that it will get read by people who might know the solution. And -- make sure you're not hijacking an unrelated thread: if your question is about something totally unrelated to a thread, even if it's a spinoff, start a new thread for it.

Finally: if you do ask a question, and you figure out the answer, please close out your thread with an *explanation* of what your solution was -- even if you had just misunderstood what was supposed to happen. This is important both because it lets those helping you know a) that you fixed your problem and b) that you *really* fixed your problem (sometimes, users *think* they've fixed a problem, but are mistaken), and because it makes the thread more helpful to people who have your problem later, and find your thread in a search of the forums.

devbobo

Nice work Jay

Bugs can be reported here, you will need to sign up for a wiki account.

Cheers,

David

System

ISTR someone suggesting that Jot wasn't permitting people to sign up just now; am I misremembering that, or has the situation cleared up?

You guys might want to look into Trac, which does all the same stuff, but can be locally hosted, if that's a problem.

devbobo

imageinc wrote:

ISTR someone suggesting that Jot wasn't permitting people to sign up just now; am I misremembering that, or has the situation cleared up?

You guys might want to look into Trac, which does all the same stuff, but can be locally hosted, if that's a problem.

I can't seem to find the signup page...but i only looked quickly. However, existing users can invite others via an email address.

System

I had to hunt and hunt, and did finally find it. I don't seem to be able to find it again, though. I'll look into it.

System

(Entirely gratuitous bump)

Andy

imageinc wrote:

I had to hunt and hunt, and did finally find it. I don't seem to be able to find it again, though. I'll look into it.

Find what?

devbobo

Andy wrote:

Find what?

wiki account signup page

Andy

devbobo wrote:

wiki account signup page

The wiki's open, for now, no signup needed, customers can have at it

System

You can enter new bugs in the bug reporter without having a login account on the wiki, then?

System

Expanded the second posting some more. Bump.

System

It's Super Bowl Sunday; what are you doing *here*? :-) Added a couple more things to the second posting, including subject line suggestions

Nikolai

ImageInc,

imageinc wrote:

...Simon has also written a short webpage on how to write problem reports like that which is--quite possibly--the best explanation of the topic I've ever seen.

Great reporting guidelines indeed! I put a link to this page on my FAQ page...

System

Glad you liked it.

Just added a reminder not to hijack threads.

System

Apply mea culpa "be patient warning" to thread-head. :-}