Content suggestion: troubleshooting page for conda/package/module errors

[andypbarrett]

Problem: many users (and mentors) are running into problems setting up their environments to run tutorials, how-tos, etc. If they are working in 2i2c this can likely be solved by us, or if it is part of a workshop/live tutorial we should try to solve it. However, if users are trying to run or adapt example code on local machines or in different environments, it is often challenging for mentors to provide adequate support. Time, lack of information about the system, etc all make troubleshooting a problem. This is frustrating for the users as well as those trying to provide support. Often support involves Googling for answers and then translating this into an answer for the user.

Suggested Solution: a Troubleshooting Guide page could be a way to help users figure out problems and also provide a way to collect often arcane knowledge about environments. My thought is that this page/pages would provide:

• solutions to common problems
• a guide to diagnosing the problem
• steps for trying to solve the problem (e.g. create a new environment, start installing packages one by one, etc)
• a checklist of information users need to provide when asking for help (OS, python version, package versions, a simple example of what you are trying to do, etc)

Next Steps: Discussion!

• Is this a good idea?
• Do we have a set of common issues and solutions to start with?
• Come up with a checklist of information users should provide

[jules32]

Hi @andypbarrett,

💯 this is a great idea and I think will be super valuable for all kinds of people.

How can I help? Would you like to revamp the current Troubleshooting page? We also talked about a specific page for setting up Python environments, so we could think about how those two chapters/ideas go together