Wagtail #support and me: what you need to know

Hi! If you're reading this, you've probably seen me answering questions on Wagtail's #support Slack channel. While I'm keen to help as many people as possible, please appreciate that I am busy, and burnout is a real thing.

The time I have available for support varies greatly, but most of the time, I will respond to questions if I can answer them in a one-line response without digging into code or documentation.

If it looks like I'm answering everyone's question except yours, it probably means your question is not something I can answer in a one-liner. You can increase your chances of a response by keeping your question as detailed and specific as possible:

• Don't say "it doesn't work" - give the actual error message.
• Include the relevant piece of code you're having problems with - it's hard for me to debug code I haven't seen.
• Avoid using vague terms that can refer to lots of different things throughout Wagtail, like "how do I add an item to a menu" - I don't want to play guessing games to find out what your real question is.
• For more advice, see Stack Overflow's "How do I ask a good question?" and Eric Raymond's "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way".

No guarantees, though - it might be a part of Wagtail that I don't have expertise on, or maybe there is just no simple answer.

I will not answer support questions directed to me personally, via direct message, email or @-message. (@-messaging me to follow up on a conversation I'm already part of is fine - but even then, I can't promise a response.) If you've posted on #support, I have probably seen it, or I'll see it soon. Approaching me directly will not get you an answer faster. As explained above, there may be all kinds of reasons why I don't answer, but I can promise that the reason is definitely not "you didn't interrupt me loudly enough".

If your question absolutely, positively has to be answered by me, you can sign up for a Wagtail support package with Torchbox, my employer. As of December 2019, these start from $1k per month, which I understand is going to be out of reach for most casual tinkerers and individual developers. Sorry, but there's only a finite amount of attention I can give, and if you want to jump the queue, it comes at a price...

"But you've got to help me! I'm hitting a brick wall here." - You're a programmer, and solving problems is your job. Yes, sometimes it sucks. All I can say is: whatever problem you're having, there's always a way to isolate it, simplify it, peel back a layer. Eventually you'll narrow it down to a problem you can solve yourself, or one that's focused enough that you can show it to someone else and get an answer.