Help Desk Etiquette (PT I):

I would like to take this time to address Help Desk Etiquette. Often users contacting the desk forget there is a human on the other end of the inquiry who will be answering them, yes we really are not automated bots, and yes we have feelings.

So where am I going with this? Well I want to remind users to show a little respect for the hand that helps you. I can also assure you that i am a little upset and saddened, at how some members are treating the Help Desk Team these days. $ewm and I do not bite your hand, so please stop biting ours for trying to help you.

Below are some examples of things you should not do and things you should do instead, believe me this will make your experience a lot more pleasant.


Situation 1.) You're banned, you are outraged, you write to the Help Desk cursing your head off using caps lock galore 2000 (Version 2.0).

Re 1.) This will solve nothing but your inquiry being ignored. The proper way to go about one of these inquiries is to politely state your case and ask for clarification on the matter rather then shout demands and insults.

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Situation 2.) You're upset as someone has bashed you in the forums someplace or on the site, you send an inquiry in with just a link and nothing more.

Re 2.) This makes us sit there wondering OMQWTFBBQ? Granted sometimes it is clear why you just sent us a link, but a brief description would be dandy and make us super duper happy over a mystery link.


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Situation 3.) Your deviation is moved to another section, you write in cursing and shouting demands at us that it does not belong in the section it was moved to, and you never include a link to the piece that was moved.

Re 3.) While we understand you're upset, stating your case calmly is better, in addition it is very helpful to link to the piece you're wondering about, as it makes things easier for us and helps us solve your inquiry faster.

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Situation 4.) You're experiencing a bug, but fail to give details and become rather irked when requested more information be given, and you go on a shout fest.

Re 4.) Firstly, I'm not sure why some do this, as sometimes you have to help us help you. Yes it's annoying to be asked tons of questions on a Bug, but if you would like to see it resolved, you need to be patient with us and give us the information requested.

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Situation 5.) You're being harassed and begin sending in multiple inquiries for every comment that is posted to your page or deviations.

Re 5.) Firstly this is bad because it causes tie ups for others needing help, secondly only one inquiry is needed on an issue, if you have further information to add to an earlier inquiry, sit tight save it in a txt file and reply to the Help Team with it when they answer your inquiry. This also helps avoid confusion between $ewm and I, as well as the Policy Team and helps get your inquiry handled faster when all information is kept in one place.



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Well this is all I have for PT I, stay tuned for PT II within the next week.

We hope that you found this information helpful and will follow some of the suggestions provided.

Happy Help Desking!