I think there is a big need to teach members to ask clear and concise questions. Many questions are very vague yet they ask how to do an entire program. This is not just one member; it is many members and many questions.
Sometimes we are able to guess what a person is asking. I know I have been criticised in the past in other web sites for guessing, but I usually guessed accurately. Many times we are unable to guess and it is often very frustrating for me to try to get the person asking for help to clarify their requirements. The reaction I get usually is as if I am being unreasonable. I try to get clarification of the question before proceeding so what usually happens is that the person does not get help.
Sometimes a member will try to guess but the guess is incorrect. That often leads to a little bit more information from the person asking for help so the member trying to help guesses again. And the process continues. Many times the question becomes a different question; sometimes it becomes a very different question. It is very frustrating for me because it takes so much time to read a long discussion, and my requests for clarification usually are essentially ignored.
All of this is less important if the member asking for help eventually gets the best help possible. The problem is that if the person does not get the help they need but I could help them, then it is very frustrating for me when the member just does not understand how to ask a clear and concise question.
It is not a language barrier. The problem also occurs for members that use English as their native language, including members in England.
I think that for the members that ask vague questions about a general subject, such as how to write an entire program, it would really help them to understand the value of describing requirements. It would really help them to learn how to define what they need to do. When we do that, instead of seeing a forest to be cleared as a project that is too much work, we see simple swings of the axe to chop down the trees. When we define the requirements of a program, then we can solve small problems instead of one huge overwhelming problem.
It is amazing to me how vague and short many questions asked by members (that have asked many quesions in these forums) are. It is frustrating for me when I get very little response when I ask for clarification.
Can anyone explain why we should be supportive of members asking vague questions? Do other members think it is helpful to try to guess at what they need without first getting clarification? Other than getting points of course. I can understand if a member wants to accumulate points then it is beneficial for them to have very long discussions.
Sam HobbsPosted Mar 1, 2012, 8:38 AM
Sam HobbsPosted Mar 1, 2012, 7:22 AM
Mamta MPosted Mar 1, 2012, 7:11 AM
"I am trying to get members trying to help to understand how to provide better support. "
But in order to provide better support, dont you think some effort needs to be made to ask questions clearly too? Yes, we can help and provide solutions provided we know WHAT the problem is. When the problem itself is unclear, providing a solution becomes difficult.
Many times I found giving a link to an MSDN walkthrough that explains in detail how to write so and so application is far more better than providing some sample code which the person will only copy into his code editor and execute, thereby making his boss and client happy. But who wants to be a code monkey? Wouldnt you be prefer to be a thinking developer rather than copy-paste someone else's solutions? Think, people, think. Ask questions that can help you grow...that can help you become a better developer, and not become a copy-paster.
Sam HobbsPosted Mar 1, 2012, 7:01 AM
For the purposes of this discussion, I am more concerned with discussing the responses to questions; in other words, what members do in response to questions. I have certainly noticed years ago that some people spend less time writing a question than I spend asking for clarification. More than 30 years ago programmers talked about GIGO, which means Garbage In, Garbage Out. That applies to questions too.
I won't dwell on that here. I am trying to get members trying to help to understand how to provide better support. Many people think that an answer is not good if it does not have sample code. I want to explain that that is not always true, and it is not just an attempt to save me time. I have learned many years ago, years before I knew about C# Corner, that if I try to get someone to try try do it themself then someone else will swoop in and do all the work for someone and that makes me look bad. The truth is that I would continue to help them to try to get them to be able to help themselves better but instead developers get addicted to a forum for help.
At least you understand Mamta.
Mamta MPosted Mar 1, 2012, 6:34 AM
Somehow people have this arrogance about them that says, "I am so good in Java/C#/C++/whatever so why should I bother to frame my question properly? If other developers are so expert, let them understand what I am asking" ...But this is WRONG on their part, totally WRONG.
Because unless you make the effort to ask a question properly, why should you expect others to put the effort to answer your questions? Secondly, asking a question vaguely means people will guess, like you said, Sam, and that means that if their guess is wrong and they give wrong answers, it will waste both the asker's and the answerer's time. Time is precious. Value it.
Ask a clear-cut properly phrased question and you will instantly receive good answers, even might get exactly what you are looking for. But if you ask poorly phrased questions, people will spend hours just trying to understand what you want to know.
They also say "reply fast"...hello, we are all doing free answering here, you cannot order us to reply fast. This is all voluntary work. In fact, you should feel grateful for people taking the time and effort to help you by answering your questions. Have you heard of anyone DEMANDING help? no. Help is requested. Not ordered, like hey you, give me help.
Also, a request from me, please dont write writing "Hi dear..." to random strangers in questions and answers on forums. It does NOT look professional at all. It looks funny and weird (crazy).
For eg:
"Hi dear i am not getting ur answer so please send me with simple example." this was written by a guy to a guy who answered the question. The word "dear" is reserved for someone close to you, especially of the opposite gender.