Finding tech support, wherever you can

One thing has come to mind now that our filter software at work changed...

There are other avenues of support besides what the vendor "officially" puts up on the Web or in e-mail. For example, there are forums out there where I routinely find expert advice that have nothing to do with a vendor's official information. In fact, it's usually better, since it comes from people who use the product (and run into problems that the vendor won't acknowledge for PR reasons) and have found their own ways to deal with the problems. Also remember that in the rush to embrace Free and Open Source software, many times the way to get support is through chatting on IRC with the developers who can look at and fix up problems or suggest another option. Lastly, being able to follow other people on sites like Twitter and ask/answer questions can be very valuable, especially when you're trying to fix something that's broken now, or up against a deadline and can't wait for the "official" support to get back to you.

Now tell me how blocking these support avenues helps us out there.

More later as I start digesting this issue and coming up with options.