Writing an effective Apple Support Communities question

The purpose of this User Tip is to help you write a question that will draw out the best volunteers on this site - experienced users who can help solve your problem competently and quickly. Presumably, that's what brought you to this site, and to this User Tip.

First, it's important to understand that Apple Support Communities is primarily a user-to-user technical support resource in which Apple participates only in a very limited manner (as explained later). None of your fellow Apple users contributing to this site represent Apple in any way. Authorized Apple technical support is available through AppleCare representatives, Apple Retail Store associates, or Authorized Apple Service Providers. None of them participate on this site.

To contact Apple directly, contact Apple using the various methods described in the Contact Us link that appears at the bottom right of every Apple web page.

The volunteers that participate on this site are users just like you. They do so of their own volition, and for reasons known only to them, but the vast majority of its participants want nothing more than to help solve problems simply because they enjoy it. No monetary gain or other incentives are permitted, or tolerated.

Step 0: Search for an answer

Most of the time, perusing this site will reveal many questions similar to yours. Nothing can be easier than having a question answered without even having to ask it. This site's opening page contains a prominent "Search" field. Type your question in there, and you are likely to find many similar questions that have already been answered:

"Answered questions" with a green check mark are likely to be more helpful than others. If you find a solution, you have accomplished your objective with minimum effort.

Don't overlook the Help menu present in nearly all Mac apps either.

• Caveat: Beware that this support site does not sort answers chronologically by default. Check the date of the particular answer you find. If it's anything more than a few weeks old, its shelf life should be considered expired. If your initial search results reveal answers from ages ago, it's almost certain to be totally irrelevant. Keep searching. Available search options include sorting by date or relevance. Try both.

If you still can't find an answer to your question, read on.

Step 1: Ask your question

Navigate to the appropriate hardware or software section that you think is most relevant to your concern. A hardware - specific example is MacBook Pro. If you believe your question is related the operating system it uses, an example is OS X El Capitan. iPads, iPhones, and iPods all have their own categories too. If you are not certain in which category your question falls, that's OK. Just make your best guess.

Ask your own question. Don't tack a new question on to someone else's. No two Macs remain completely identical after they leave the factory, so it's very likely your problem is quite different than that described by the originator of a thread, even if your symptoms are exactly the same. Tacking on "me too" replies to someone else's question will distract others from addressing the originator's concern, and generally causes confusion. It's analogous to barging into a physician's examining room while another patient is being treated, and saying "hey, I've got the same problem". If you really are experiencing the exact same problem, merely subscribing to that thread by clicking the "Follow" link (checkmark icon) is sufficient to receive email alerts whenever someone replies to it. You can wait for a solution to be posted and for its originator to mark it "solved", but it's better to ask your own question so that you can receive the individual attention you deserve. This is the best way to receive timely, relevant, and accurate replies to your question.

• If you decide your question has become lost in a bunch of irrelevant and distracting replies accumulated over a long period of time, just post a new one. Optionally, consider replying to yourself with something like "closed but not solved" to let others know you still need help. After creating that new question, including a link to it in that reply can be helpful.

Compose your question as coherently as you can. If English isn't your preferred language, that's OK. This is a worldwide site, and writing a well-composed question in a language that fewer people may understand is infinitely better than writing an incoherent one that no one understands.

You may also want to visit one of these, depending on your preferred language:

Apple Support Communities - Chinese

Apple Support Communities - Korean

Apple Support Communities - Japanese

Apple Support Communities - Spanish

Apple Support Communities - Portuguese

Describe the problem you're experiencing. If your Apple product is not performing as expect it should, describe what happens and when. For example, if web pages are loading slowly or not at all, but otherwise your Mac is running fine, say so. If your iPod seems possessed by evil spirits, describe when it occurred and what you've done so far to fix it. The idea is to correlate your product's behavior with the actions that appear to be causing unacceptable performance.

Screenshots are often much better than describing in words what you see on your screen. To attach a screenshot see the Appendix.

It's best to describe the symptoms of a problem and your observations than to prematurely assume the underlying cause. Experienced users will consider those symptoms in light of the way you use your Mac. If you did something dumb and you know it, that's OK. Describe what you did and we'll try to undo the damage. Your thorough description of the problem will elicit appropriate follow-up questions that are intended to result in the solutions you seek. Additional follow-up questions are often required, so be patient.

• Due to a peculiarity in the way this site works, you may occasionally see similar or identical follow-up questions posted by different people at different times.

Please make sure your question adheres to the Apple Support Communities Terms of Use.

Step 2: Provide specific details

It's important for others to know what Mac model you are using. There are now about five dozen separate and distinct portable Mac models alone, each with various hardware configurations, and that doesn't include PowerPC models, the dozens of desktop Macs, or their various configurations. It helps to know exactly which of those hundred or so variants is the one giving you trouble.

It's important to include your OS X or iOS version. To find out what yours is go to your  (Apple) menu, and select About This Mac... It will appear direclty beneath the big, bold OS X text. An example is Version 10.11.3. For iOS devices, tap Settings > General > About. Scroll down and read the number next to Version.

The answers to the above questions can be found in System Information. Including that information in your Profile is very helpful. Enter or modify your product profiles by clicking your ASC user name (see Appendix).

Just as there are many Mac models with several major OS X versions, there are many software versions. If your question relates to using a particular software product, include its version number. That information can generally be found by clicking the application's name in your Mac's menu bar, adjacent to the  menu, and finding its Version in that window. To cite one example, click the Safari menu and choose About Safari.

Step 3: Follow up

Replying to others: In an in-person meeting or group, whomever you're speaking to is usually obvious. It's a lot less obvious in an Internet forum such as this one. If you intend to reply to one person's post, using the Reply button at the lower right of that post helps make it clear that you are responding to that particular post. Doing that helps prevent misunderstandings among those trying to help you. If you want to reply to several people, or no one in particular, replying to yourself is OK. But, just like starting a sentence with a conjunction, strict adherence to any particular protocol is optional. Most of this site's frequent contributors understand the limitations of this very limited communications medium, and do their best to work within it.

If your question has been answered, say so. It will help others if you mark the appropriate answer with the "Correct Answer" choice. That way, they will have completed their objective right at Step 0 above.

If your question has not been answered, say so. Post a reply asking for more help, but please wait a sufficient amount of time for others to respond. A few minutes isn't enough. Wait at least a few hours, maybe even a day, and don't be tempted to "bump" your own post. Though that will cause your question to float to the top of recent posts, questions with zero responses are easier to find and will almost always generate more interest.

Another reason not to "bump" is that questions with no responses will automatically be forwarded to Apple's support team after a couple of days. You won't be ignored.

Appendix

Screenshots (Mac):

To take a screenshot hold ⌘ Shift 4 to create a selection crosshair. Click and hold while you drag the crosshair over the area you wish to capture and then release the mouse or trackpad. You will hear a "camera shutter" sound. This will deposit a screenshot named "Screen Shot...." followed by a date and time on your Desktop.

• If that key combination is not working for you:  (Apple menu) > System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Screen Shots > Restore Defaults.

When you post your response, click the "camera" icon above the text field:

This will display a dialog box which enables you to choose the screenshot file (remember it's on your Desktop) and click the Insert Image button. If you are not using full screen mode you can simply drag the image into the text entry field.

⌘ Shift 4 and then pressing the space bar captures the frontmost window.

⌘ Shift 3 captures the entire screen.

Don't capture or upload any information you consider personal. To edit an existing screenshot, read How to edit a screenshot.

Drag the screenshot to the Trash after you post your reply.

Screenshots (iPhone / iPad / iPod):

To take a screenshot press both the Home and Sleep / Wake buttons simultaneously. You will hear a "camera shutter" sound. This action takes a photograph of your iOS device's screen and places it in your Camera Roll.

If you use iCloud's Photo Stream feature, that picture will automatically appear in iPhoto on your Mac. From there, you can export it to your Desktop and upload it here using the same instructions above.

If you don't use iPhoto or iCloud's Photo Stream, email the picture to yourself or find some other way to get the photo on your Mac, since the Insert Image feature doesn't appear on iOS devices.

Determining product information and editing your ASC product profile:

Your product profile appears at the end of your post, if you choose. Lacking any other information, what appears there is all anyone knows about your Apple products.

To create or edit your product profile, click Add or edit my products before posting your question. Click the Edit link next to My Products, then choose the product that applies to your question. Keep your profile updated, as you acquire more Apple gear or upgrade operating systems.

To determine your Mac's model description, go to the Apple () menu and select About This Mac. Its OS X Version, Processor, and Memory details are helpful to include in your question.

Click the More Info button shows your particular Mac model description at the top of the window. An example is iMac 27-inch, Mid 2015. If System Profiler opens instead, clicking Hardware Overview will show its Model Identifier.

Tutorials:

There are excellent tutorials for using this site: Tutorials