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Former Member
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Dear forum posters,

please stop adding to each post a sentence like "Please award points for helpful answers" or the like.

See the

Thank you!

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Answers (1)

Answers (1)

Former Member
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SDN has now introduced a <a href="/people/mark.finnern/blog/2004/08/03/announcing-the-contributor-recognition-program Recognition Program</a>. Which in short text means that for each question you have 10 points, which can be given to the person that answers your question.

Why worry? But at the end of the day, all of us are human, and a small recognition goes a long way. This way, you win in getting a good answer. The person answering gets that warm feeling of having helped and with enough points gets a small reward.

SDN is a community that lives for and from its users. Which means when asking a question, <b>you also assume the responsibility</b> to assign the points. Recommended is that you assign 6 or 10 points once to the answer/person that helped you the most. Assign 2 points to everyone that contributed something. See also <a href="https://www.sdn.sap.com/sdn/index.sdn?page=crp_help.htm">FAQ</a>.

SDN is place where developers meet other developers. One takes the time to see the problems other developers are facing, the time to read possible solutions (to learn), and maybe one day the time to answer some questions.

This is <b>NOT</b> a support channel. For urgent problems, especially if it concerns your business, <b>SAP Service Channel</b> is the only way to go! It the place where your problem gets logged and tracked, where there are escalation processes available, and where we can involve different groups as appropriate to get a problem solved. Problems can and will only be handled via SAP Service Channel, not in this forum.

As such, do not use any of the words urgent, quickly, burning, etc in your message. Especially not in the title! This just irritates and does not help you to get to your goal. From our side, we definitely not answer faster, nor better when we see these hot words.

The same for such things as ??? or !!! in appends. In English language one ? or ! is sufficient to terminate a sentence.

Let me give a small story: in another forum, somebody asked a complex question with the words "<b>URGENT</b>" in the title. The only answer he got from another forum user was "<i>Don’t use urgent</i>". The question was never answered.

And as such, it is recommend following a specific style, so that you get your questions answered, and also other people feel happy to read the thread.

Which means: always ask questions, but leave time for the answers to be sought.

<i>

Text in this message was borrowed from <a href="https://www.sdn.sap.comhttp://www.sdn.sap.comhttp://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/servlet/prt/portal/prtroot/com.sap.sdn.businesscard.sdnbusinesscard?u=s1ett4b5nss%3d">brian McKellar</a> and the BSP forum.</i>

<b>1.5.</b> Why is nobody answering my question?

This may be for a variety of reasons. Firstly, never assume that you are entitled to an answer. Remember this is a community forum; the people on the list have jobs just like you and respond voluntarily. Perhaps nobody knows the answer.

The following are a few tips on posting effective questions with a better chance of getting a response:

<b>Use a good subject line.</b> The subject header is your golden opportunity to attract qualified experts' attention in around 50 characters or fewer. Don't waste it on babble like "Workflow question". As we all have busy jobs, often we just skim through the list headings and read those that interest us. Also, DO NOT reply to an unrelated post to ask a different question. This confuses those reading the thread and may lose people that would be interested in your question. Always start a new topic with a new mail.

Bad subject: Urgent problem with workflow

Good subject: Error after transport: "Inconsistent workflow definition"

<b>Try to find the answer first.</b> There are tons of resources out there, show that you have tried to find the answer. A question that shows that the person is willing to try and help themselves is more likely to be answered than one which simply demands information. Tell us what you have tried to solve the problem yourself - often we can learn from that too!

<b>Provide enough information.</b> For starters, please tell us which version and type of system you're working on - e.g. SAP R/3 4.6C or SRM 4.0 (EBP 5.0). If your question is regarding an error, include the message. If it is a request for info, please be specific. Questions such as "How do I administer workflow" are vague, tell us exactly what you want to know - "I'm the administrator, how do I forward work items to another agent?". If it's a big query, rather break it down into separate questions.

<b>Re-read your query before submitting it.</b> Put yourself in a reader's position - does the question make sense? Can I understand the problem? Is this enough information to be able to answer the problem?

This is a very valuable technique, because many questions end up answering themselves when you read them carefully. It also leads to better questions. Many list readers like good questions, especially if they are thought-provoking and thus help all of us understand things better. This is one of the main reasons many experienced consultants read the list regularly.

Lastly, it's also nice to <b>follow up with a brief update </b>if you have found the solution. People may try to help not because they know the answer, but because they are interested in solving the same problem; or people may just encounter the same issue in the future and be searching the archives. It's a good way of giving back to the community, irrespective of whether you are a beginner or an expert.

<i>Taken from <a href="/people/mike.pokraka/blog/2005/07/17/sap-business-workflow-faq Workflow User Group FAQ</a> by <a href="https://www.sdn.sap.comhttp://www.sdn.sap.comhttp://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/servlet/prt/portal/prtroot/com.sap.sdn.businesscard.sdnbusinesscard?u=xbzpqlwvluy%3d">mike Pokraka</a>

Please see our <a href="https://www.sdn.sap.comhttp://www.sdn.sap.comhttp://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/wiki">Wiki FAQ</a> and use the search before you post. More detailed <a href="https://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/HOME/RulesofEngagement">rules of engagement</a>, can be found on the Wiki.