 When you use your computer for very long and you've installed Linux on it somewhere along the line You're going to come across a stumbling block of something that you don't know how to do whether it's how to write a Serving script or how to install something specific how to build something from source It could be any number of situations where you just have no clue what you're doing. It's Okay, because no one knows how to do everything No matter what anyone says on the internet. They don't know how to do everything It's just the way humans work. You are not perfect and you're not all knowing so you cannot possibly know how to do everything It's just you know the way things work So when you hit that stumbling block and you realize that you don't know how to do something What are you to do? Well, there are several things you could do if you are Coming across a problem on your Linux box that you don't know how to solve you could give up and go back to Windows That is always an option. It's probably not a good option But it is an option you could nuke and pave your computer and go ahead and reboot into a different ISO and Reinstall Linux and do all the setup and stuff like that That's an option that I followed many times when I come across a project a problem and I don't want to deal with it I just nuke and pave or distro hop or whatever So that is definitely an option But the option is probably the best for most situations is to ask for help And it's the solution that I think people find themselves the least willing to take a lot of the times Especially in the Linux community because when you ask for help often times in Linux forums and on Reddit and stuff You don't get very friendly answers and that's just kind of the sad nature of the way Linux works It has definitely led to people feeling like they're superior when they know something and they're not really all that helpful when they want to share what they know or They assume that you should know things that you don't really know and when they make that assumption they become an ass so Definitely there are issues when it comes to asking for help So what can you do about that? You can't control the people people are going to be douchebags No matter what douchebags are going to do no matter what that's what they say anyways So don't take what they say personally don't let them drive you away from the Linux community You can't change them. They're gonna be ass monkeys no matter what I did in fact just say ass monkeys. I Don't know what that means Don't worry about it. We're gonna move on So what can you do for you in order to bypass the situation? Well, there are certain things that you can do they'll make it less likely that you get a Horrible answer when you do ask for help and that's what we're gonna talk about today The first thing you should definitely do is try to solve the problem on your own Okay, the worst thing you're going to do is enter the arch forums and ask a question that you've never tried to solve on your Own you've done you've not done any googling none of the stuff You've just automatically hopped into the arch forums and expected somebody to give you the answer You are not going to get a positive response from that especially if the answer is a Very easy one so if you get in there and say like how do I move one file to another file or Something like that you're gonna get a really bad answer because that's something that can be easily found with a quick Google so Google your problem first that should be the first step always and Even if you don't understand what the solution is that you find on Google, that's okay Like that's seriously okay as long as you've made the step and made the effort to try to solve it on your own You're going to be much less likely to find somebody in the arch forums or the regular Distros forums or reddit or whatever giving you a bad answer just because you didn't make an effort So as long as you've made that initial efforts, you're going to be much better off The second thing you should definitely do before asking for help really is to continue on that path of Trying to solve it yourself. So if you found a solution on Google somewhere try one of the solutions that you found even if it doesn't fix the problem You can say that you've tried something so it real this is really an extension of the first one really so not only You shouldn't just Google it You should also carry through with that and try to use one of the solutions that you found on Google if you Just Google it and say well, you know, I found the solution by never even tried to use it Well, then you're not going to get a very good answer. Are you so? Definitely try to fix it on your own. You may not be successful. It really doesn't matter at this point I mean, hopefully you are successful obviously, but there's a chance that you won't be and you won't understand what's going on Whatever, but if you make the effort You are going to be much better off and you're gonna be much more likely to get help And that leads us to the third and final thing ask for help. That's the third step, okay? It seems like an obvious thing to do But those first two steps are really important because when you go to the arch forums or the fedora forums Or you go to the r slash linux questions on reddit, whatever whatever your Forum of choice happens to be You can get on there ask your questions and say hey, these are the things that I've done to solve the problem But I'm still having issues or this is what it says to do online But I don't understand how to do it can someone explain it to me in a different way that might help me out If you get into Those forums and say those things I've done this this and this the problem is still happening. What do I do next? You're going to have a much better luck of finding someone who is willing to help you If there's a solution because they're going to know exactly what you've done To solve the problem and then they can Either tell you what you did wrong in terms of the solution or they can move on to the next solution Whatever it is and they're going to feel like you've put effort into it That's the key thing here if you've made the effort to solve the problem yourself You're going to have a much better chance of drawing in Intelligent responses to your question when you do finally seek help. It's just going to be very much Easier for someone to take you seriously if you hop into a forum and say hey these are the things that I've done to solve the problem, but they didn't work or This thing here. This is how it says to do it online I just don't understand it can someone tell me this or point me towards another Tutorial or something like that. Don't be afraid to ask for more information from other places Just say hey, I have discovered this thing that I don't know how to do These are the places where I've looked and I've read all the information But I still don't quite understand is there a better resource for me out there somewhere that will explain it better Don't be afraid to ask that if you again show that you've put effort into learning something And you still don't get it asking the question and then putting it this way It's going to be a much better way of actually doing this because people are going to realize and appreciate that effort The last part of asking for help on linux or open store software Is to don't take anything personally when it comes to answers that you receive because even if you go through all the steps that I just said and you've tried to Find a solution on your own and then you go ask for help and you tell everybody exactly what you've done You've looked at the logs and all this stuff that you know You possibly could have to look at and you're still having problems. You're still going to find that one douchebag asshole, whatever you want to call them on the internet that's as Like redeffin manual or you're an idiot or you're a noob. You should not be here Whatever you're going to come across that no matter what you do Even if you follow these steps, I guarantee it you're going to come across someone who's just They're having a bad day or they're a perpetual person on the internet. Who's just a troll Whatever happens to be the case you're going to come across that person You can't take it personally. You just don't let it drive you away because not everyone's like that I guarantee it and By letting them get under your skin. You're letting them win. Okay, they are Specifically trying to push you away and you have let them one if you let them get to you So ignore them down vote them on reddit Whatever you have to do in order to feel better, but move on from that and just know that not everyone's like that You're going to find some help Somewhere along the line and you're going to be happy for it. So definitely don't think take things personally. It's just You can't I mean you everyone here has used the internet for a long period of time probably You and this happens in every sphere of the internet. There are just trolls out there You have to learn to bypass them and ignore them because if you feed the trolls, they're just going to keep on trolling So don't feed the trolls one final thing that I should say Here is that you are going to receive help Somewhere along the line Like I said at the beginning everyone needs help and they're going to receive that help in whatever form It's going to take you're going to get answers on reddit. You're going to get answers in a forum somewhere You're going to be on discord and someone's going to help you The best thing you can do after you get help is pass that shit on cruise around in Forums and on discord and stuff and see where there are places where you can help because the best thing You can do is passing on the kindness that other other people have given you And in this case when someone helps you and then you pass it on it kind of continues a cycle because if You get help and then you help other people and then you get help again You help someone else You know, it's just the more people that are out there that are willing to get on there and help it the better The whole community is so pass it along That's the best thing you can do and it's definitely one of the best things about the Linux community because a lot of people follow That mantra they get help they help other people and we all help each other That's kind of the way it goes and it's really nice So if you have comments on this you can leave those comments in the comment section below I'd love to hear from you. 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