Don't Ask to Ask

I sometimes volunteer as an admin on an IRC server's #help channel and see this frequently.

It is a fine line between a newbie entering the help channel and asking 'hi is anyone here able to help?' vs. 'Hi, I can't change my nick'.

In the case of the former, the channel bot boots them and sends a PM/DM explaining the protocol (it is stated in the channel topic as 'Don't say Hi or Hello, just ask your question and wait').

At first I was a bit taken aback by the server operators stance since it seemed so user hostile but after a few weeks I began to understand the reasons.

It makes it much easier when paged (the bot pages/pings a descending list of nicks if nobody responds to a new post within 60 seconds).

Being paged to drop by the help channel is made so much easier by being able to scan back and read the actual problem rather than a 'Hi, is anyone able to help me?'

From a users perspective it seems rude to just blurt out 'hi, I need help with xyz' and I totally understand that (see my earlier comment about it seeming rude) buuutttt... it just saves so much time/mental energy on the 'person helping' end to parse the problem, dig out either the FAQ link or ban-hammer or other remedies if the 'hi I need help' is predefined.

It also allows those that are just idling in the help channel to decide whether or not to try to deal with it or if the problem is beyond their remit/knowledge/server privileges.

Took some getting used to but damn does it save a lot of time!

> don't ask to ask

So it is easier to ask for forgiveness after asking, than it is to ask for permission in advance to ask? Asking for a friend.