my 0.02 - We can abstract this advice beyond stack overflow et al.<p>And apply this advice in the offline world (e.g. workplace).<p>tl;dr<p>- Be resourceful (explain what have you tried? What are your expected vs. actual results?)<p>- Say what (not how) you're trying to do<p>- Realize you might be asking the question to the wrong place (or person)<p>- For code, and this is me personally, but I look at _why_ one method may is preferred over another.<p>- Basic respect (don't flag it urgent<i>), and don't complain<p>- </i>For example: I forgot my password is urgent for you vs. a system shutdown urgency for sysdmins<p>- Answers take a while to get. Respect people's time.<p>- If people don't understand your problem, you may not be describing it properly.