Hot take: I was asking my questions all wrong for years

I was trying to get help with a Python script on a forum last week, and my post got ignored. I'd just written 'my code is broken, help.' A guy named Kevin finally replied, 'What's the error? What did you try? What's your OS?' I had none of that. I'd been doing that for maybe three years. Now I start with the exact error message and what I've already done to fix it. Does anyone else have a rule for how they ask for help?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor.jessica23d ago

Kevin's advice sounds good in theory, but honestly it sets a high bar for just asking a simple question. Sometimes you just need a second pair of eyes and spelling out your whole life story is a chore. I've seen plenty of posts where someone just says "this doesn't work" and the community jumps in to help anyway because they're bored or like the puzzle. Making people list every single step feels like doing homework before you get help.

quinn_nguyen23d ago

It also filters out the people who won't help themselves.

alice_reed4723d ago

But what if the homework is the whole point? It forces you to actually look at the problem, and half the time you fix it yourself before even posting.