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- The Bentley discussion groups provide a constructive, informative, and helpful environment for users and developers of Bentley products and services to ask questions and share information with Bentley technical staff and with each other. Although these discussion groups are a good complement to our support and training offerings, if you encounter an issue that needs urgent attention or is likely to require a detailed exchange of information, we highly recommend using the Service Ticket Manager or other professional services described at SELECTservices Online.
- Please do not post "test" messages in the discussion groups. Use bentley.testposts to post test messages.
- Before posting, check the product documentation, ReadMe, TechNotes & FAQs, Bentley Library, KnowledgeBase, etc., and review the examples that came with the product to see if those documents can provide information about what you need.
- Determine which discussion group you should post your question to. Check the messages that are already on that discussion group or use one of the search capabilities to see if others have recently posted anything that is related to your inquiry.
- Make sure that the date, time, and time zone on the computer you are posting from are correct. This helps ensure the chronological order of posts.
- Provide relevant information that might help any investigation, including (but not limited to):
- The 8-digit version of the Bentley product(s) you are using
- The operating system (including service packs) that you are using on your workstation
- Whether you are running the product(s) and/or accessing data over a network and, if so, the network operating system involved (including service packs)
- Any first- or third-party product(s) or custom applications you are running
- Whether the situation you are experiencing happens on one file, more than one file, every file
- Whether the situation you are experiencing happens regardless of the workspace you are using
- The basic hardware configuration for the workstation you are using (e.g. CPU, RAM, graphics card, etc.)
- What you are ultimately trying to achieve
- What you are expecting and not experiencing
- What you are experiencing and not expecting
- Include an image or small sample test case that demonstrates your issue (i.e. DGN file, resource file, low resolution screen shot, msdebug.txt, etc.) Please see Posting Files for more information regarding this.
- Before posting, double-check where you are sending your message. It can be very embarrassing to accidentally post a message to a discussion group when you meant to send it via E-mail.
- Use a meaningful subject line. Instead of saying that you need help urgently, summarize the problem in your subject line. If you are getting an error message that you need help understanding, put the text of the error or a summary of it in your subject.
- Try to ask one main question in each message and post it in the discussion group that is most applicable to your inquiry. A message with many questions is less likely to get the same attention as a focused message with a few short, related questions.
- Do not ask questions in a way that invites everyone to answer in the negative, because the likelihood of getting an answer to such a question is very low. Simply state the problem and ask for help.
- Do not be annoyed by receiving a half-dozen conditional answers from different people. Make it work for you by noting the suggestions that are not pertinent to your immediate situation. They may become pertinent, and sooner than you think.
- Be prepared for follow-up questions. The people who respond to your message will be trying to recognize what the problem might be based solely on what you write. If they do not recognize the problem from your initial description, then you will be asked to provide more details, like what product version, simple test/example cases, steps to reproduce the issue, sample code, etc.
- Do not assume that nobody wants to help you if you get no answers. Ask again in the same discussion group, with the timing of the second request determined by the urgency of the problem. State that it is a second request.
- If you have a legitimate complaint, it does not do any good to make your entry onto the discussion group by stating that the product is terrible, the company is criminal, and the users of the product are idiots, and then demand assistance or else. Stick to the facts, eliminate the hyperbole, and register your complaints through the appropriate channels.
- Stay on topic. When you post a reply to a message ask yourself, "Does the original subject line describe the contents of my message?" If the answer is no, you probably want to modify the subject so other members of the discussion group can decide whether they are interested in your message.
- Pursue off-topic discussions by e-mail. Often a technical thread will evolve into a friendly chat on some other, unrelated topic. This is good because it is part of what makes these discussion groups so useful. When the discussion has moved away from the original topic and it is likely no longer of benefit or interest to the greater community, consider moving the conversation to e-mail.
- Do not ask for assistance via e-mail. If someone spends time answering your question, spend the time to retrieve the answer.
- Write conservatively, read forgivingly. Communication in a pure text medium, such as a discussion group, is prone to misunderstanding, often due to the lack of nonverbal cues such as inflections, facial expression, and body language. Given this, it is best to be conservative with expressions of anger and sarcasm when writing. When reading, assume good intent; if a message can be taken two ways, assume the friendliest meaning.
- Remember that written words will last a long time. Anyone with a newsreader and access to the Internet can read your words long after you have written them. Think twice about what you say (sometimes it is more important to know when to say nothing than it is to say something).
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