How to Ask a Question on Stack Overflow, a Minimal Guide

"How do I ask a question on Stack Overflow without having it immediately downvoted and closed?" This question is frequently asked by new users on Meta Stack Overflow, and people still seem to have issues with the official guidelines, so maybe a shorter, to-the-point guide will help.

Assuming your question is on-topic, there are three things you need to include when posting a question on Stack Overflow:

1. What your program is supposed to do
2. Your code
3. What your program is actually doing

If you leave any of those three things out, people will have trouble answering your question, so they'll often downvote it and vote to close it instead of trying to answer it.  (Ok, I admit it. It's me. I'm the one downvoting you.) Let's take a closer look at each one of these things, and maybe I can convince you why each one is important.

What your program is supposed to do

You need to include an explanation of what you are trying to do in your question. Without it, people are not going to be able to start helping you. Don't just assume that people will understand from the title or context what you're trying to do. Spell it out. If you help people understand your problem, they're much more able to help you with a solution.

Your code

Does every question on Stack Overflow require code? No. But the majority of them do. Most often, people are going to need to be able to run your code in order to help you. If you have code, you need to post it. If you're going to write code and you don't know where to start, you need to start before asking about it on Stack Overflow. Don't post a link to your code. Don't post an image of your code. Post your code.

What your program is actually doing

Describe how your program is acting differently than you expect (What your program is supposed to do). Not including this information leaves people guessing about what the problem actually is. Does your code not even compile? Give the wrong output? Print an error message? Lock up your machine and set fire to the building? Each one of these very different behaviors will point an experienced developer to the solution much more quickly than just reading your code. Include any output, including the text of any error messages in your question. Those cryptic error messages might not mean anything to you, but a more experienced programmer can lead you directly to the problem if they know all of the details.

Is that really all I need?

No, not really, but this covers the majority of the questions that I see closed and downvoted on Stack Overflow. If you follow these guidelines, you should have far fewer problems with getting your questions answered. Once you've mastered just asking a question and not getting it closed, you should read some more complete guides on asking great questions, like Jon Skeet's Writing the Perfect Question.