How to Ask Questions the Smart Way

[oiuyt]

Link pulled from NoahZ's most recent journal entry. Thought it deserved more visibility.

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

-B

[chefencer]

So - Sticky candidate?...

[mrbiggs]

This is a bit less topic-specific and easier to watch.

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting.php

not as thorough, though

[KD5MDK]

If only ESR could distill things into a better summary.

[Ordway]

If only ESR could distill things into a better summary.

The contents list is a pretty good summary: (slightly edited)

Use meaningful, specific subject headers
Write in clear, grammatical, correctly-spelled language
Be precise and informative about your problem
Volume is not precision
Describe the problem's symptoms, not your guesses
Describe the goal, not the step
Don't ask people to reply by private e-mail
Be explicit about your question
Don't flag your question as “Urgent”, even if it is for you
Courtesy never hurts, and sometimes helps
Follow up with a brief note on the solution

The section on "On Not Reacting Like a Loser" is also very appropriate, for a community like this one: (also slightly edited):

"Odds are you'll screw up a few times on community forums — in ways detailed in this article, or similar. And you'll be told exactly how you screwed up, possibly with colourful asides. In public.

When this happens, the worst thing you can do is whine about the experience, claim to have been verbally assaulted, demand apologies, scream, hold your breath, threaten lawsuits, complain to people's employers, leave the toilet seat up, etc. Instead, here's what you do:

Get over it. It's normal. In fact, it's healthy and appropriate.

Community standards do not maintain themselves: They're maintained by people actively applying them, visibly, in public. Don't whine that all criticism should have been conveyed via private e-mail: That's not how it works. Nor is it useful to insist you've been personally insulted when someone comments that one of your claims was wrong, or that his views differ. Those are loser attitudes.

Remember: When that person tells you that you've screwed up, and (no matter how gruffly) tells you not to do it again, he's acting out of concern for (1) you and (2) his community. It would be much easier for him to ignore you and filter you out of his life. If you can't manage to be grateful, at least have a little dignity, don't whine, and don't expect to be treated like a fragile doll just because you're a newcomer with a theatrically hypersensitive soul and delusions of entitlement.

Sometimes people will attack you personally, flame without an apparent reason, etc., even if you don't screw up (or have only screwed up in their imagination). In this case, complaining is the way to really screw up.

These flamers are either lamers who don't have a clue but believe themselves to be experts, or would-be psychologists testing whether you'll screw up. The other readers either ignore them, or find ways to deal with them on their own. The flamers' behavior creates problems for themselves, which don't have to concern you."

[chefencer]

Excellent "Cliff's Notes"!
Thanks!

[jBirch]

Great, so now we'll get a lot of posts entitled: "Sport Fencing - Foil - Rules - PIL: Awarded to opponent improperly" or "Politics - Conservative Viewpoint - Bush is God incarnate" instead of the eminently more enjoyable "Help! I keep skewering myself!" or "Bush solves world problems...again.".

Way to suck all the life out of a well functioning Internet forum.

*grin*

James.

[KD5MDK]

I await the FOC decision to implement Bugzilla for referee issue tracking purposes.

[tbryan]

Way to suck all the life out of a well functioning Internet forum.

Don't worry. People will still be able to threadjack, so that "Sport Fencing - Foil - Rules - PIL: Awarded to opponent improperly" will probably really be a thread with a few replies linking to all of the old PIL threads and then a thorough discussion of glove safety or the most comfortable knickers or something.

[oiuyt]

Don't worry. People will still be able to threadjack, so that "Sport Fencing - Foil - Rules - PIL: Awarded to opponent improperly" will probably really be a thread with a few replies linking to all of the old PIL threads and then a thorough discussion of glove safety or the most comfortable knickers or something.

Glove safety vs. a sabre PiL? That could be a real issue!

Granted it's a slight thread-jack from the original foil-specific topic.

-B

[Black Jeebus]

This should be sticky'd. It might make for more people going through and searching before posting a new question. Honestly I spend more time in the Water Cooler just because every other thread in the Fencing Forum is the same question over and over again.

[tbryan]

Link pulled from NoahZ's most recent journal entry. Thought it deserved more visibility.

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

-B

I read the linked article.

When discussing the "Smart Way" to do things, the author doesn't explain the fencing reference at all! You'd really think that there would be more background on the Smart Way and why it is more effective that other schools. Since the HOWTO seems to be aimed at a broader audience than just the fencing world, you'd think that the author would have explained it a bit better. Most people won't recognize the reference to fencing when they hear of the Smart Way. Just think of the exposure that our sport could gain if we could get the author to include a link to this page! Maybe I'll contact this ESR fellow.

[KD5MDK]

I'm more of a subscriber to the Ivan Lee manner of asking questions, as soon as I figure out what that is.

[oiuyt]

This should be sticky'd.

Just post something insightful, informative, thought-provoking, or funny to the thread every three hours and it'll have at least as good an effect as a moderator stickying it.

-B

[KD5MDK]

Or make a poll about it, and someone will cast a vote at least every week for about 4 years, which also has nearly the same effect, thought slightly more intermittent.

[chefencer]

DIY Sticky! I'm sure there's some way to automate the process...

[Frank Pratt]

DIY Sticky! I'm sure there's some way to automate the process...

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