User blog comment:Yatalu/What makes good user support/@comment-1038387-20150710214907

Knowledge about the matter is important.


 * I try to avoid the heavy code questions, but when I do reply to them, I tend to give them generic troubleshooting questions to isolate the problem (probably a relic from my customer service days), and then I hope someone else picks up when they answer it.

Good explanations


 * Guilty. I tend to revise my answers a lot, which can create a patchwork mess of longwinded sentences with several clauses and parabombs. Lots of info (not all relevant) crammed into sentences. Sometimes, I have two sentences that say exactly the same, or don't follow each other.


 * Then, I revise again to split them up some more. Either way, I can drone on and on.

Kindness and patience


 * Remind me not to post after midnight.

Treating others who help


 * If you've never been typing a long, link-filled answer (or even a short one), then see you're answer #3, you clearly haven't spent that much time here on CC. It's frustrating, but most of the time, those three answers say more or less the same.