Asking Questions the Right Way

Good Question = 
    Context + 
    What You Tried + 
    Specific Ask + 
    Minimal Reproducible Example

# In GitHub issues
is:issue "exact error message"
 
# In closed issues (often has solutions!)
is:issue is:closed "your problem"
 
# With your specific scenario
is:issue "feature name" + "your situation"

"It doesn't work. How to fix?"

"I get an error when I run the app"

"Fix this ASAP. I need it for my project."

"How do I install this?"

Title: [Bug] Authentication fails with special characters in password

**Environment:**
- OS: Ubuntu 22.04
- Node: 18.17.0
- Package version: 2.3.1

**What I'm trying to do:**
Log in with a password containing # character

**What happens:**
Error: "Invalid credentials" even with correct password

**What I expected:**
Successful login

**Steps to reproduce:**
1. Create account with password: Test#123
2. Try to log in
3. Get error on valid credentials

**What I've tried:**
- URL encoding the password
- Using different special characters
- Checked issue #234 (different problem)

**Relevant code:**
```javascript
const response = await auth.login(email, password);

Error: AUTH_FAILED at line 45

**Example 2: Question About Approach**

## The Question Template

```markdown
## Summary
[One sentence describing your question/problem]

## Context
- What I'm trying to do: [goal]
- What I've read: [docs, issues checked]
- Related to issue: #[number]

## Environment (if applicable)
- OS: 
- Language/Runtime version:
- Package version:

## What I've Tried
1. [First attempt]
2. [Second attempt]
3. [Third attempt]

## Specific Question
[Your actual question]

## Additional Context
[Screenshots, error logs, code snippets]

After 3 days:
"Hi, just following up on this. Is there any additional 
context I can provide? Happy to help troubleshoot."

After resolution:
"Thanks for the help! The issue was [X]. I'm updating 
the docs to help others who hit this."

After 1 hour:
"Hello???"

After 1 day:
"Why isn't anyone responding? This is urgent!"

Multiple messages:
"bump"
"anyone?"
"hello?"

"Thanks @maintainer! That solved it. For anyone else hitting 
this, the issue was [X] and the fix is [Y]."

"Thanks for the pointer! I tried [their suggestion] and got 
further, but now I'm seeing [new issue]. Should I open a 
separate issue for this?"

"Thanks for the explanation. I see your point about [X]. 
I was thinking [alternative approach] because [reason]. 
Would that also be acceptable, or is there a reason to 
prefer your suggested approach?"

Subject: Request for guidance on first contribution

Hi @maintainer,

I'm new to open source and excited to contribute to [Project].
I've been following the repo for [time] and have:
- Set up my local environment
- Read through CONTRIBUTING.md
- Looked at issues #X, #Y, #Z

Would it be okay if I asked occasional questions while 
working on my first contribution? I'll do my research 
first and keep questions specific.

Thanks for maintaining this awesome project!

Hi, I'm interested in working on this issue.

Before I start, I want to make sure I understand the scope:

1. Should the solution also handle [edge case]?
2. Do you want tests included in the same PR?
3. Any specific approach you'd prefer?

Happy to discuss and provide a small proposal before coding.

I've been working on issue #123 and hit a wall.

**What I'm trying to do:**
[Specific goal]

**Where I'm stuck:**
I can't figure out how [specific component] connects to 
[other component]. Looking at [file], I see [observation], 
but I'm not sure if [uncertainty].

**What I've tried:**
- Followed the flow from [entry point]
- Added logs at [locations]
- Read [related docs/code]

Any pointers on how these pieces fit together?