[HOW TO] [Q&A] How to best phrase a request to receive the most suitable answer?

Background: Following some threads in this forum I pretty early realised that quite a few requests and questions are raised without sufficient information to allow developers (dev), Recognised Contributors (RCs) or other members to easily provide solid answers and recommendations. Everybody should remember even the highly professional dev cannot read your mind.

Purpose: To provide some recommendations how to best phrase a request to receive the most suitable answer.

Recommendations:

1. Don't make a dev, RC or anybody else to read your mind.
2. Don't have a dev, RC, or anybody else to make assumptions. As soon as an assumption fails the whole solution is going to become void.
3. Before you post your question or request, reboot at least once and try to replicate your issue or problem. If it doesn't persist anylonger the reboot might already have been the solution.
4. Please post your question or request by using the English language to allow everybody to understand the post and hopefully to contribute to or at least to learn out of it. Don't be afraid if English isn't your native tongue - that's certainly the case for most of the xda users. English isn't an issue here - as long as we all at least try to use this language. Even if your English skills aren't too developed just use simple wording; nobody is going to blame you; however, try to be as precise and unambiguous as possible.
5. Always run a logging tool to be able to augment your post by a log (logcat) file. Add the log as an attachment to your post. If you for whatever reason decide to include the log into the text phrase of your post please hide the log in order not to spam the thread. It doesn't matter, which logging tool you use but familiarise yourself with its use and where it saves the log. I'm e.g. using an app called "Catlog" that saves logs to the internal memory.
6. Take screenshots (quite often via buttons "Vol-" & "Pwr") or if more suitable a screen record (quite often via buttons "Vol+" & "Pwr") and attach them/it to your post. Before you take a screenshot or record, change your system language to English to allow everybody to understand the content of the screen.
7. Always provide exact and precise information about your device, the ROM, the kernel, your recovery, and specify the versions of the latter three. Occasionally information about your modem (or even bootloader) might also be helpful e.g. if you've problems with the RIL, mobile network or making phone calls. If you're on F2FS please mention.
8. If your issue or problem occurred immediately after you freshly flashed a ROM or kernel, please describe your installation procedure (clean, dirty, or describe when you wiped and/or formatted what). Please provide information, from which ROM or kernel you came.
9. If you have issues with anything from Google, specify the GApps version you flashed.
10. If you're using Xposed, please provide this important information including version and its developer as well as the modules you use.
11. And remember: Before you flash anything take a NANDROID backup!

Last but not least: Don't ask what e.g. the best ROM or kernel is! All, available at xda, are great but have their different specification, capabilities, pro's and con's. The best one for you is the one, which meets your desires and expectations. Use the search function of xda, read the OPs, and scan the respective threads. It means you have to read and study but I've no doubt you don't mind to do that for your device.


Credits:

• @FLooDW for his valuable contributions.

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