in reply to Help for the homework problem?

After sleeping on it, I'm not happy with my own suggestion anymore either - chalk it up to posting too late on a too-long day.

I am more than happy to offer advice where I can to anyone asking a question, be it homework or workwork (hmmm... /me runs off to register workwork.com), but (and I don't think I'm alone in this), I do want some effort and honesty on the part of the questioner. What I want is some way to ensure that the time and effort expended by those people contributing here is not wasted on people who:
- can't be bothered to edit the text of the homework assignment down to what is actually giving them trouble
- want the solution e-mailed directly to them so they needn't return here to risk perhaps learning by observing the flow of knowledge
- can't be bothered to even read the answers they've already received (e.g.here and here)

I think it would be good if everyone with a question registered, but I realize that this restriction would probably shut out some people, so that's not on either.

How about a separate section for homework? Would honest students voluntarily post in an area where they know they would not get a complete shrink-wrapped solution? I think and hope so, but I just don't know. Either that or how about all Monks (me included) just stop complaining about homework questions? We could agree to just ignore them or respond as we wish, but this debate is getting tiresome. I like to tell people "don't complain unless you're willing to work on a solution", and that's why I'm writing this, but if my fellow monks want to agree to drop the issue altogether, I'll go along with that too.

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I'd like to be able to assign to an luser

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Re: Re: Help for the homework problem?
by marvell (Pilgrim) on Dec 07, 2000 at 19:37 UTC
    Maybe a simple guide to postings should be written and made obvious to posters of questions. Maybe, in fact, only obvious to Anonymous Monk. This would contain such points as you have mentioned above. I have worked in technical support before and been faced with many an inappropriate question. It's annoying, but if people do not know what to ask, or how to ask it ... we can't expect them to get it right. Maybe all that is needed is a little education.

    I commend the idea to the house.

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    Brother Marvell