Is there a list of the best help forums for the various 'challenges' we encounter?

There is a wealth of knowledge on anything building trades related here, the wall would be the first place I would ask for anything trades related, because I know enough about the people responding based on all their previous responses to trust the advice. Though it may not be the focus I imagine there are master plumbers and electricians on this site as well. Anything else I typically type into google, if I don't get quick results I add the word "reddit' to the end. So far I have never been left hanging on any computer/software type questions by doing those 2 things, never even had to make my own post as somebody else has always had the same issue.

Mike Holt forum is best for electrical but they only accept licensed people.

I agree with @EdTheHeaterMan , Heating help is the best!!!

Mike Holt electrical is the best I have found for electrical. But they have decided for liability reasons to only allow people licensed in the electrical trade, (Electricians, contractors and engineers) to participate on that forum.

That forum is one that like Heating Help the people that participate are respectful (for the most part) and they don't allow nasty stuff or swearing etc.

if you paid by credit card you can reverse the charge.

Well you have their ladder and still have 1/3 left to pay and all the material is on site (I hope). You may not be ahead of the game, but you don't need to pay the last 1/3 until you are satisfied that the work is completed according the the manufacturer's specifications. You can always lock up the ladder with a chain and padlock until you get them to pay attention to you.

Does Siding need a permit in your area? If so, did they apply for one? Did they get approval to start? Now you have building code enforcement folks to ask for help. If you don't know, then call your building permit department anonymously and ask them if you need a permit to install siding on your home (in a different neighborhood).  You may be fined if your contractor started the work without the proper permit, so ask anonymously.  The homeowner gets the fine because the contractor may not live within the jurisdiction and it's easier to levy a fine on the property owner.

Nest step is social media. Post the lousy job on facebook or twitter or any of the other sites that have a audience. Post the name of the contractor  with their phone number. Tell your story and ask anyone who thinks that your were treated unfairly to Call the contractor and tell then so. You don't need thousands of followers. Just ten or so calls from people to the contractor will do.

Example 1: I am confined to a wheelchair, so I booked a Handicap Accessible Room for the first week of August 2024, 7 months in advance. When it came to the middle of July and I had airfare and other arrangements to meet with family from all over the country during that week in a quaint resort town, the venue called and said that the handicapped accessible room was still under construction and will not be available for another week. Could I move my stay to another week later in the month?   

As this was the peak season for tourism in that town, there were no other accommodations available for miles around, let alone handicap accessible rooms.   I posted this information on Facebook with the name and phone number of the motel.   Several of my friends called the venue and mentioned their disgust with the management handling of the situation. When someone just commented on facebook that it was not a good thing, I replied with the phone number, and asked them to call the motel and let them know how they feel.  

Turns out the electrician was holding up the completion and with all the social media attention for such a small town venue, the check in desk was “overwhelmed” with complaints (probably 10 calls on my behalf total)  The next day I got a call from the manager of the motel, the room will be ready on time but my boss needs you to do them a favor.   Can you please remove your post from facebook?

Example 2:  I visited Savannah GA for the first time in my life 4 months ago.  I used a wheelchair trailer to move my motorized wheelchair from my home to GA.  When I checked into the HIlton downtown Savannah, my caregiver and driver needed a large parking space out front of the hotel to offload the wheelchair from the trailer.  There was no room in front of the Hilton so she parked across the street in an empty parking space. All we needed was 5 minutes.  It turned out that parking space was reserved for the horse drawn carriage ride.  There was a woman who works for the Savannah Carriage Company that started harassing my caregiver about how we could not park there.  The Space was “reserved” and we had to move NOW!      

This of course upset my caregiver and so removing the wheelchair from the trailer took over 12 minutes.   During this entire time there were no carriages in sight.  I had to jell at the top of my lungs to get the Carriage employee to pay attention to me.  When she finally came to the passenger's seat, where I was sitting, confined, because I had no wheelchair,  so I could give her a piece of my mind, she was still raising her voice at me about not parking there. That time allowed my caregiver to bring the wheelchair to the passenger's seat so I could transfer from the car to the wheelchair.  Once I was Mobile, I took a picture of the carriage company employee and posted it on Facebook, with this story.  Again I added the phone number for the carriage company where you might book a carriage ride.   I know for a fact that 7 of my friends called the carriage company from all over the country on my behalf that day, Washington State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.   I don't know how many more after that.  Three days into our visit, I called the Savannah Carriage Company and asked if they were receiving any calls about their employee’s handling of a situation with a handicap tourist the other day,  they had a very brief and scripted answer…. “The situation has been addressed with that particular employee and we are handling this internally.”  no other comments will be made.  With such a scripted answer, I guess that management had to send out a memo to all the customer service phone people in order to contain the damage.  I was never contacted by the carriage company, and I have not taken the post down.     

Social Media can be your friend here

By the way. If you have not visited Savannah GA. I highly recommend it! we had a great time after the initial speed bump.

Hi, Sometimes a friendly letter on an attorney's letterhead gets a response. 😇

Yours, Larry

A letter sent by certified mail will grab their attention. It should include a reference to the vapor barrier that is missing, and that the manufacturer's installation instructions state must be there.

The letter should also include that you would like to resolve this promptly and in a professional manner. Any delay may involve additional costs. I'm sure that you do not want to incur any additional costs. Let's work this our to both our advantages. Include a copy of the instruction sheet from inside the box of siding, with the vapor barrier line highlighted as above.

A Week later, a second certified letter more strongly written will have "additional costs to have the siding installed properly by others will become your responsibility". Then start the process to set a court date in your local small claims court. Take photos and document everything. Take screenshots of unanswered text messages. After every phone call attempt, send a text that you just tried to call, and you left a message.

Print all this information and keep a file with all your records of phone calls that go unanswered. Text messages unanswered, even a visit to the contractors place of business should be recorded. See if your phone has a call recording function to keep records of the conversation. If you are recording, you must say "This call will be recorded" on any answering service or voice mail message you leave. Your can then make a transcript of every conversation you have, even if it is just leaving a message.

After 6 weeks of no response is when you start the social media campaign.