When you’ve got database questions, you can get fast, free, friendly help.  Here’s how to do it:

1. Join Twitter. It’s completely free, and you don’t have to post boring stuff.  Just use it for questions.
2. Post your question in a tweet with the word #SQLHelp or #OracleHelp.  People in the community have searches set up for these phrases, and they’ll respond.
3. Watch for responses. On the right side of your http://Twitter.com page, you’ll see an @Username link.  My username is @BrentO, so on the right side mine says @BrentO.  Click on that link, and you’ll see the tweets sent to you.
4. Respond back to them. Click on the Reply link under each tweet, and in your reply, include the #SQLhelp or #OracleHelp tag.  That way everyone else will see your responses, which is helpful when you’re doing a lot of back-and-forth conversations to troubleshoot something.
5. Close Twitter when you’re done. Don’t feel obligated to hang out in the community if it’s not your thing.  Some folks just pop in to ask questions – and that’s completely okay.