Reporting Technical Problems

Many people, when they report technical problems, just say that something is "not working."

Well, it may be the case, but that's hardly informative--there is not much that can be done with that little piece of information. It's not even the tip of an iceberg--it's more like a glare off the tip of the iceberg.

The problem could come from many sources, including your hardware, software, Internet connection, web server, web design, database, data, or data entry. It helps to eliminate some of the possibilities first.

Before you report the problem, try at least the following:

• Try different search terms (if you are doing a search)
• Try removing (or adding) special characters such as diacritics (if the search term might include or not include them)
• Check other websites (the Internet connection may not be working)
• Trying the same website later (the server may be down temporarily)
• Restarting the browser (the browser may be logged into the website, which can change the behavior)
• Trying a different browser (the browser may not be compatible or not correctly configured)
• Try a different device (the device may be incompatible or not working properly)

If none of these seems to solve the problem, then go ahead and ask for help.

To figure out the problem and to address it, it is helpful if you can provide as much information as possible. Here are some of the pieces of information to include:

• Computer model (e.g., Macbook Air 13-inch, Mid 2013)
• Operation system version (e.g., OSX Yosemite 10.10.1)
• Browser type and version (e.g., Google Chrome Version 39.0.2171.95, 64-bit)
• Time and date of access (the server may have been down)
• The URL of the site that is having the problem
• A screen shot of the window
• A description of what you were trying to do, steps you took to do it, when the problem happened, and what the problem seems to be (be as specific and detailed as possible)
• Any error messages you have received
• Which of the possible solutions listed above you have tried. 

Following these guidelines could help solve the problem quickly.