Whenever people contact me with having a problem with software I've written, I ask them to describe the problem as thoroughly as possible in an email. Many times, they've found the problem themselves, either being a problem in how they used my software, or what exactly the problem was with my software.

I try to use the same technique when I'm using anybody else's software. My out box has several half finished emails with problem descriptions that didn't need finishing because while writing them, I found the problem, or realized the problem was somewhere else.

Yes, stepping back and providing examples has always worked for me: actively as well as passively. ;-)

Liz