Last updated on July 26th, 2022 at 11:07 am
Lately I have been seeing a lot more of the “bump” being used within the mailing list, forums, and newsgroups! This is my Bump Rant!
Bump Rant
What “bump” tells me is that the person doing it couldn’t be bothered to re-read their issue and re-write it to provide more details and so that it piques someone’s interest. Don’t get me wrong I don’t mind it when someone’s re-posting a message with new content within. It tells me that:
- It is important to them
- They are still looking into solving the problem themselves
- They want to provide as much information a possible to people who might be able to help them.
- Their office might be too cheap to pay for support. (That is another problem that need to be addressed within a different blog)
Don’t you just love it when they must have the answer now but will not spend a dime on support? They will not even wait one full business day before “bump”ing their message! Most of the time they will not even bother to use search engines to try and solve their issue! Well, let me tell you, if I see a “bump” message, I will automatically delete the message. If you can’t take the time to explain your issue and / or to wait at least 24 hours / one full business day, then I don’t have the time for you. This may seem selfish but if it is so important to them then they can call and pay for support just like everyone else. How many of those people who use “bump”ing will actually answer a question for someone else?
I’m still undecided which is worse “bump”ing or “PLEASE HELP ME” messages! Most people within the forum/mailing list and newsgroups are professional and do have a regular job. They check the forums, mailing list and newsgroups as they have time and answer when they have time.
I know from talking to others at various conferences and other events, they also ignore people who “bump”! So if you are a “bump”er or “PLEASE HELP ME” person then understand that you have cut your support bases. If you are a chronic “bump”er or “PLEASE HELP ME” then you will most likely stop getting any support from the regular members.
How to get Help!
To get help then I suggest you answer these questions both to yourself and within your message:
- What is the problem?
- What do the logs say?
- Is your subject line descriptive? Keep in mind that most people only read the subject line before moving to the next message.
- Think about what has changed recently and could it have been the cause?
- What have I done to solve the problem?
- Have you search Google or Bing the Answer?
- What step did you take to reproduce the issue? (point form, no long winded answers)
- Don’t ask for help on more than one problem at a time
- If you need the answer now, then tell your management that you need to purchase support from a vendor. If they will not purchase support, then tell them it will take some time to resolve the issue.
Stop the Bump Rant, Just Don’t Do it!
Finally, don’t forget that you can subscribe to my RRS feed to stay on top of the latest trips and tricks. Additionally, If you have any questions, please feel free to touch base @Garthmj.