OK.  While we do get a lot of requests for this particular Pontification of Peter's, we admit it:  We didn't post it here by popular demand.  We lied.  We posted it here because Peter got tired of trying to find the link to the PDF, so he could give it to people posting questions on NTDEV.

One of the keys to getting technical questions answered in online forums is to ask the right question.  You need to give the people you're asking sufficient context to allow them to provide you with an intelligent answer.

We see this problem again and again in our NTDEV, NTFSD, and WinDbg forums.  Back in September of 2009, Peter Pontificated on this exact topic.  You might enjoy -- or, learn from -- reading what he had to say:

Read: Peter Pontificates: Asking Questions (PDF)