in reply to On How To Answer

I believe that Erudil has already covered this topic quite adequately :)

Update: - okay, perhaps that was a bit dismissive of me - my apologies. Yes, I think a FAQ on answering questions is perhaps a good idea :)

However, saying "I didn't do this for XP" sort of turns me off a bit. Saying it three times turns me off even more. It reminds me too much of a politician - "I'm not cutting taxes because there is an election coming up - I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do" ...yeah, right.

Anyway, looking at your what you have so far on your pad - I'd say it's a good start. There is just one point I would take issue with:

"Don't say module Foo::Bar does the trick"

Why not?
In many cases, that's all that is required. Quite often, the OP doesn't need to be spoonfed an answer - they just need be pointed in the right direction. I think the main point is that a good answer is one that is tailored as best as possible to the level that the OP is at. Of course that's not always easy to judge, so a bit of guesswork is usually involved.

I think the best guideline one could adopt for answering questions here in the Monastery, is to attempt at all times to remain humble. I say this because I know it's something I have to constantly remind myself of.

Cheers,
Darren :)

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Re^2: On How To Answer
by shmem (Chancellor) on Jun 24, 2006 at 10:06 UTC

    All that's behind the bullet was meant to be one point. It read:

    • Don't give non-solvers.
      If the OPs question is fuzzy or their code bad, point it out.
      Don't say module Foo::Bar does the trick

    Now it reads:

    • Don't give non-solvers: if the OPs question is fuzzy or their code bad, point it out, instead of saying module Foo::Bar does the trick and done.

    The thread Deleting by Age! is a good example. The OP didn't need a module but be pointed back at their code, and told to formulate their needs in a coherent way - and then eventually be advidsed to use a Module.

    I think the best guideline one could adopt for answering questions here in the Monastery, is to attempt at all times to remain humble.
    Very true. And an obvious point that must be pointed out, for anybody to whom it isn't obvious...

    Erm... and on the politician stuff. I had the idea to declare this node a poll, which ain't. It doesn't work. Its a node. That's why I had said not for XP.

    To ask for feedback is ok, but if I think there should be a FAQ entry covering how to answer, then I'll just do it. Then there's a node, which eventually will be linked into the FAQ. That's the right way.

    Thanks for the link and your comment, McDarren. Hmm. Why isn't 1st Monasterians up front?
    --shmem 

    _($_=" "x(1<<5)."?\n".q·/)Oo.  G°\        /
                              /\_¯/(q    /
----------------------------  \__(m.====·.(_("always off the crowd"))."·
");sub _{s./.($e="'Itrs `mnsgdq Gdbj O`qkdq")=~y/"-y/#-z/;$e.e && print}
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