I have a developer who is asking a general question the smart way. He has a clear question that needs to be answered and keeps it short and not to overwhelm helpers. He asks the question, “What is the maximum length of a URL in different browsers?” Although very short, he follows up with another question asking if it follows HTTP specification. I think this is a smart question in a way that it doesn’t seem to be a homework question and this developer doesn’t present himself as such, no whining or asking for direct help, it seems to be a question that is curious. This developer doesn’t go into detail because the question asked doesn’t require so. It also seems to be a discussion and not a solution, which many helpers have expressed. He received a very effective response explaining the foundation of HTTP and then answered the question he posed. He also explains the reality and limitations it has and goes to explain all the different browsers length limits. I think this is a great smart question because it led to a very thoughtful response and not just the solution.
This other developer is asking for homework help in a bad way. Not only is this developer not learning much, he also previously stated in the current forum he has copied from someone else’s code and therefore does not understand even what his own code is. He also brings up that this specific homework he is asking help for is due tonight which is counterproductive in other developers eyes. Which brings us to the replies, he was responded to by 2 people about what to change in his code, however, they do not go into much detail as to why it was wrong. To me, that is not helping him learn, rather just cheating for answers. This person has yet to know what is wrong with his code and is blindly following what people are telling him what to do without the knowledge as to why. To be frank the solution was also somewhat easy if you were to actually look at the code. Homework sales calculator
Smart questions are useful because they are discussions and are responded with thoughtful replies. Those that are not are responded with solutions and what to do and do not go into detail as to why. The insights I gained are that posting homework help is the worst thing you can do. Understanding is a big part of what makes questions questions and posting solutions defeat that purpose.