Re^6: Special place for RTFM posts

...the main box is where you put your question.

Really? Just the question? In that case, I guess we need a separate box for the OP's perl code, and a separate box for where the OP discusses the background of her problem, etc.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't perhaps do something more to encourage SoPW posters to think more about their problem, or maybe even do more work before posting. But adding a separate input textarea is not the solution. And in any case, I really don't see this happening because it would entail a radical change to the site infrastructure (to wit, the addition of a field to a database table).

What is the sound of Windows? Is it not the sound of a wall upon which people have smashed their heads... all the way through?

Comment on Re^6: Special place for RTFM posts

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Re^7: Special place for RTFM posts by SilasTheMonk (Chaplain) on Dec 22, 2009 at 19:32 UTC
Really? Just the question? In that case, I guess we need a separate box for the OP's perl code, and a separate box for where the OP discusses the background of her problem, etc. I'm not saying that we shouldn't perhaps do something more to encourage SoPW posters to think more about their problem, or maybe even do more work before posting. But adding a separate input textarea is not the solution. And in any case, I really don't see this happening because it would entail a radical change to the site infrastructure (to wit, the addition of a field to a database table). Only I am trying to discuss is ways of: Encouraging people to think before pressing submit. Discouraging people (even better anonymous people) from replying to weak questions with unhelpful RTFM. I am not saying that the underlying database be changed. I am just saying that the form could be changed to force a little thought. If that extra hurdle is a text or drop-down box the input would just be merged into the main text with suitable formatting.	[reply]
Re^8: Special place for RTFM posts by Jenda (Abbot) on Dec 25, 2009 at 17:52 UTC
How was that or any other RTFM unhelpful? If nothing else it encouraged the people that have seen it to think before pressing submit. If only not to be told to RTFM. Jenda Enoch was right! Enjoy the last years of Rome.	[reply]
Re^7: Special place for RTFM posts by Argel (Prior) on Dec 22, 2009 at 22:54 UTC
While I am inclined to agree with you, if the fields were optional then there could be some benefits -- the most obvious being enclosing any text entered into the "Code that shows the problem" field within <code> tags. Elda Taluta; Sarks Sark; Ark Arks	[reply]
Re^8: Special place for RTFM posts by jdporter (Paladin) on Dec 23, 2009 at 12:14 UTC
... enclosing any text entered into the "Code that shows the problem" field within <code> tags. That's basically what we had in the recently shuttered Code Catacombs section. The reasons we had for closing that section equally apply here as a reason for not making the suggested change. What is the sound of Windows? Is it not the sound of a wall upon which people have smashed their heads... all the way through?	[reply]
Re^9: Special place for RTFM posts by Argel (Prior) on Dec 23, 2009 at 20:43 UTC
I think you are overlooking that many long time users would probably take advantage of it for any post fitting the "question followed by code" format. But I doubt it's worth the effort to implement. Elda Taluta; Sarks Sark; Ark Arks	[reply]