10. Getting Help

Help! I need somebody

Help! not just anybody

Help! you know I need someone

Help!

—The Beatles, Help!

This fragment of the song originally appeared in the 1965 film Help! and was written by Lennon and McCartney, just a few years after the development of Mark 1, the first commercial computer. Maybe just a random coincidence, or maybe Lennon was just trying to write an email to McCartney.

While the song might have been written with another meaning in mind, it is a good way to describe the situation of many researchers who are presented with a new toolbox. Indeed, the situation of many researchers is that the projects they are working on are becoming more and more complex in terms of methods and data. Thus, we open up the doors to new possibilities:

When I was younger, so much younger than today

I never needed anybody’s help in any way

But now these days are gone, I’m not so self assured

Now I find I’ve changed my mind and opened up the doors

—The Beatles, Help!

The setback with modern research is that current methods are often more complex and require more computing, which means that we need to learn concepts from computer science, mathematics, statistics, etc. This is a good thing, but it also means that we need to learn new tools and new ways of thinking, which can be a bit overwhelming, to the point that we start relying more and more on other researchers. In the end, we might feel like we lose our independence:

And now my life has changed in oh so many ways

My independence seems to vanish in the haze

But every now and then I feel so insecure

I know that I just need you like I’ve never done before

—The Beatles, Help!

We can continue with the song, but we think you get the point. The point is that we will need help, and we will need to ask for it. We will need to ask for help from our colleagues, from our supervisors, from our friends.

We are a small team of researchers and developers, and we are not experts in everything at once. Each one of us has a specific expertise, and we are trying to use this expertise to create Junifer. When we conceived Junifer, we thought of researchers’ problems and tried to come up with the best way to help them, by building a tool that is easy to understand, learn and use. Most importantly, we made it to help. We are here to help you and your research.

If you have any questions, problems and / or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to help you and we will be happy to hear from you.

Seems nice, no? But we have one condition: help us help you.

Communication is the key for you to help us and in turn help you solve your problems. We cannot know what you are trying to do, unless you tell us. The more detailed explanation you give us, the faster we can help you. We have opened several communication channels so that you can contact us in the way that is most convenient for you.

Some people prefer to write, in detail, with code and figures. If you are one of those, use the junifer Discussions. site on GitHub. This is a place where you can ask questions, and where you can discuss topics such as potential new features, or potential new methods.

Some people do not have a clear idea of what they want, but they know that they need help. This is not a problem, but it is a bit more involved. Since it will require more frequent interactions to try to understand what you are trying to do, we have the junifer matrix channel in which you can chat with us and other junifer users.

Finally, some people prefer to communicate verbally. If you are one of those, you might want to join our office hours. Given that our agenda might vary, office hours will be announced on the junifer matrix channel chat. Feel free to join and just listen in if you are too shy to write.

In short, these are the 3 communication channels to get help:

1. Discussions on Github (junifer Discussions):

   Pros:

   • You can write your question in detail.

   • Your question will not get mixed with other conversations.

   • Likely to be the fastest way to solve the issue in the long-run.

   Cons:

   • You need to write your question in detail.

2. Chat (junifer matrix channel):

   Pros:

   • You can ask questions in real-time.

   • You can including code and figures in your question.

   Cons:

   • Real-time depends on the availability of the other users.

   • It might be difficult to follow if several conversation happens at the same time.

3. Video Calls (office hours)

   Pros:

   • You can get real-time feedback.

   • You will get our undivided attention (no overlapping discussions).

   Cons:

   • We can’t read or write code, or even propose solutions for you to test.

   • You will need to wait for the next office hour.