When I run into problems with my code or hardware, I instinctively go to the internet to ask questions and find solutions. Sometimes the problems have solutions available online, other times there isn’t any. Then I could ask a question on open forums for example StackOverFlow where there are many experts and users that may have experienced or know a solution to the problem. However, I am nervous about questions I ask may be labeled a “bad question” and be called a “luser,” according to an article written by Eric Steven Raymon, an American Software Developer.
The article “How to Ask Questions The Smart Way” written by Raymond, teaches how to ask questions in such a manner that you are more likely to receive a satisfactory response. Raymond’s guideline and standard is divided into two main sections, before and when asking.
Before asking a question, you should try looking for your answer reading through the web, the manual, a FAQ, archives of the forum. This may provide the quickest path to your answer and won’t waste other people’s time asking for an answer that could be looked up on Google. You could also do inspection or experimentation on your program, asking a skilled friend for help, or looking in the source code. When you ask your question, displaying the fact that you have done these things first, shows an aptitude for learning from the responses.
When asking a question, Raymond’s guidelines also has DONT’S that should be considered. Forum posts should be related to the topic, very elementary question to a forum where advanced qechincal questions are expected or vice versa, cross-post to many different newsgroups, or send a personal email to someone who is not responsible for answering your question. Your questions should use specific meaningful titles, being concise, straightforward, and clear of unnecessary information. Descriptions of the problem and the problem’s symptoms and the goal is helpful for people who are going to answer your question.
This post is a good StackOverFlow post from a user that asked a smart question. The title asks to parse a JSON string into a object prototype in Javascript. This is a good question because the user specifies their prior knowledge. The user further expands their question by researching and updating their code, and keeping up to date with the current libraries for Javascript. The fact there were many answers to this question proves that asking smart questions will help getting your solution.
This post is a bad StackOverFlow post from a user that asked a not so smart question. The title isn’t descriptive enough and does not show what problem they are hoping to solve. Some experts and developers commented that the poster should provide program inputs and what the expected outputs are, so it reduces the hassle and makes it easier to help. One of the comments explained that this question, without these crucial information, would not be useful for future visitors who encounter the same problem. The question ended up being closed because it was not a smart question and nor follow part of the guidelines.
Both posts demonstrate that asking questions in a more smart and efficient manner might provide better results. The outcome of this analysis of these posts emphasizes how valuable it is to be able to rethink and communicate your questions to others and how to do it effectively. Not only as a student learning software development, but as a human-being, learning the communication skill is key, and being able to properly ask a question will help me improve.