You Git What You Ask For
07 Sep 2017
You Git What You Ask For
After having read “How To Ask Questions The Smart Way” by Eric Raymond, I closed the webpage feeling a mixture of emotions. I felt a little guilty, knowing that at times I have failed to specifically convey what my problems are and should have received the acronyms STFW and RTFM in response. I also felt proud, because I have asked questions in a prepared and courteous manner. However, what I really felt when I walked away from this read is a sense of gratitude for what the author wishes to convey. Highly technical answers sprout from technical questions, and those with the questions who are unfamiliar with the topic should be prepared on how to ask them.
How To Git What You Want
By all accounts it makes sense to me that someone who is not being paid to specifically answer all forms of questions, would find an annoyance in being asked stupid questions. Every specialty takes time to master, and those unwilling to undergo the grueling process of learning, shouldn’t be afforded a bypass to that process. By becoming involved in the topic, those who are able to assist you, become more able to assist you. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they will, as those whose interests are being protected in this article have made it evident that even if you abide by all of these courtesies, they still might not be interested in helping you.
By phrasing what you have to ask in the form of a thought-provoking question, you allow for a dialogue that a larger number of people will want to chime in on. This page links to a question I found on StackOverFlow that demonstrates some of Eric Raymond’s qualities of a smart question. The author of the question describes exactly what information he/she is looking for, what he/she already knows and in this case, has already taken into account. The replies to the inquiry divulge information that is attainable by the author due to the level of knowledge he/she has exhibited in the formation of the question
How To Not Git What You Want
By now a great many of us have found threads on forums that are last minute inquiries that were made hastily, or requests for short conceptual descriptions that are clearly designed to circumvent reading the source material. Those kinds of questions are referenced in “How To Ask Questions The Smart Way” as the kinds of questions that will go unanswered, or answered with an acronym involving expletives. However there are some people who are willing to help regardless of the question, and in the case of this author he/she had someone who was willing to fix their code for them. There was no exchange of ideas and it certainly wasn’t a thought-provoking question.
Conclusion
The mixed feelings I have for Raymond’s essay revolves around my own personal experience as an outsider of this select group of people. Although I have insight and am able to ask questions in a smart way, I have yet to earn the technical prowess that affords me the responsibility of being asked smart and dumb questions. I believe that kindness does go a long way and that it can be conveyed and felt through words on a page as similarly to how they sound in person. The hacker culture that is described in this work benefits everyone and should be read by all. It benefits those who belong to it, to those who flirt along its circles, and even those who have no business being in the same ballpark as the hackers being pulled and prodded by questions.