Nohello

Welcome to Halcove! If you're looking for chat, assistance, queries, or otherwise, this is where you can find me.

If you do need me, I am generally up for sharing information and having discussions in good faith. However, you may find it easier than normal to trigger a response that you may not agree with following one of your actions. This page exists to explain the factors that go into my actions. Please also click the subheadings under each new line for further information, when applicable.

If you're looking for help...

Limit pointless filler.

Time is valuable. Please don't be disrespectful by wasting it. You can be polite by including your greeting and other fluff in the same message as your actual query.

If you include substantial filler in your message, it can come across as desperate, overly friendly, overly excited, etc., and result in an expedited exit from the discussion.

Don't ask to ask.

You're more likely to get a response if I can see your entire query at a moment's glance, without the fluff of "politeness". If we aren't friends, you're engaging in a transactional conversation. The only reason you're talking to me is to extract information from me; not to maintain a relationship, especially if we're probably never going to talk again after that interaction. Allowing people to efficiently interpret your question allows for them to efficiently answer them.

If you "ask to ask", I'm going to respond at whichever time is most convenient to me, as the question you asked seems to be very low priority. I may even forget that you asked me and end up ignoring your query.

Instead of "Are you busy?", ask "Could you help me with documenting the Tegra X1?".

Don't parade your "solution" while asking for help.

Say you want to change the Facebook app theme color. You read online, "sending this command to your phone via your PC can force the theme to change". So instead of asking how to change Facebook's theme, you ask me "How can I send PC commands to my phone?". Instead of addressing the issue you wanted, you're trying to get help with something that isn't actually related, when I could have told you to simply click a button in the Facebook app itself to achieve the same goal. Less time is wasted for both parties if you ask for what you actually want.

If you engage in this behaviour, I'm likely to ask you upfront what your actual solution is. If I engage with your question, I'm not very likely to stay engaged once I find out I was helping you with something you never actually wanted to do, since there's now an entire secret boss to the assistance you asked for.

Instead of "How do I use Android's developer options", ask "How do I change Facebook to its dark theme?".