Why frieghten beginners away?
To some extent I agree with you -- sometimes I find some replies to be a little more "forceful" than necessary.
However a lot of times it is how the question is phrased. The best teachers know that students don't learn by simply spoon-feeding them answers. Rather, the goal of the teacher is to guide the student in the right direction and let the student discover the answer for him/herself. To that end, we appreciate questions that are clearly stated and that show that the poster has done at least attempted to solve the problem before asking for help, rather than simply wanting or demanding an answer.
However a lot of times it is how the question is phrased. The best teachers know that students don't learn by simply spoon-feeding them answers. Rather, the goal of the teacher is to guide the student in the right direction and let the student discover the answer for him/herself. To that end, we appreciate questions that are clearly stated and that show that the poster has done at least attempted to solve the problem before asking for help, rather than simply wanting or demanding an answer.
I agree with jsmiths comments and trust me, even the simplest questions will get answered. I can't tell you how many hello world posts their have been since I've been a member and they always get an answer. As jsmith stated it is absolutely how the question is phrased. Always use the code tags and be specific. Remember that people are giving up their free time to help others and we want others to respect that. Even if you get a harsh response, typically there is someone that will help you out. Don't be discouraged if you don't get an answer in an hour or two. We're all scattered around different time zones, eventually someone will get to your post.
| The best teachers know that students don't learn by simply spoon-feeding them answers. Rather, the goal of the teacher is to guide the student in the right direction and let the student discover the answer for him/herself. |
This is true but lets not forget that one must learn how to learn. Many beginners do not have any understanding of the language and are barely able to crawl. We all start out as babies ( complete beginners/noobs), knowing and understand nothing. We try to mimic what we see and do out best to repeat what we learn in useful sequence. Until beginners learn to understand the language a little, and are able to figure some things out on their own, spoon feeding might be exactly what they need.
Agreed. Unfortunately the internet does not provide a way for us to distinguish between the complete noobie case and the "give me the answer so I don't have to do it" case. It's too easy for someone to post "I'm a complete noob, please help!" statement.
Since programming is all about problem solving, I like to see the poster at least make some effort, even if what they try is completely wrong. At least it shows they are trying.
But I agree with you -- not everyone learns at the same rate, and not everyone is at the same level, so the response has to be tailored to the individual: some posters may require a little more hand-holding than others to get started. Again, it just comes down to "show me what you've done so far". This allows us, hopefully, to make a gut-reaction determination on the skill level/knowledge level of the poster.
I know that, when in doubt, I will tend to err on the side of being a little less helpful and expecting a little more from the poster.
Since programming is all about problem solving, I like to see the poster at least make some effort, even if what they try is completely wrong. At least it shows they are trying.
But I agree with you -- not everyone learns at the same rate, and not everyone is at the same level, so the response has to be tailored to the individual: some posters may require a little more hand-holding than others to get started. Again, it just comes down to "show me what you've done so far". This allows us, hopefully, to make a gut-reaction determination on the skill level/knowledge level of the poster.
I know that, when in doubt, I will tend to err on the side of being a little less helpful and expecting a little more from the poster.
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