I'm becoming tired of the Q&A section. I go there from time to time during my working day to refresh my brain (working on others' problems make my mind to wander around, been refreshed).
But it's frustrating. The main tendency is to find poor redacted questions. Not just newbie ones ("How can I write 'Hello, world' in ABAP"), it's about how those questions are redacted.
I fell into one of those questions, and I begun to write a comment on it about why no one was able to help him without investing an incredible amount of energy.
Then it popped: "dude, this is not a comment, this is a blog entry".
So here it comes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It's about effort
It's not about the language. My English skill is as low as anyone's, but somehow, I can manage myself to be understood when I post a question. Most of times.
It's about effort
I take my time thinking about what I need to communicate. I put the ideas in a (mental) list, and I try to expose them in order.
Separated by commas, in phrases or in paragraphs.
It's about effort. It's about respect
You put no effort in your question, you show no respect for your readers. Why must I spend my time trying to help you if you spent none trying to make things easier to me? You don't, so I don't.
It's about effort. It's about respect. It's about success
If your question is redacted well enough (you don't need to win a prize, just to get some help), if you put some effort on it, if you show respect for your readers, they will have more chances to help you than if your question is a mess. You will have more chances to get an answer. A proper one? Well, that depends on your audience. You will always have someone answering, because the place is full of "points hunters".
So what?
Don't rush to the Q&A, write down there your problems in any way, without any care, assuming there will be someone willing to invest enough time to read your gibberish and to decript it. And after that time, that someone will have enough energy to try to find a solution for you.
Spare them the time: if you spend (invest) five more minutes trying to improve your question, all your readers will save five minutes (each!) while reading it. They will be fresh, they will notice you tried as hard as you could, they will know you showed your respect, and your chances to success will improve a lot.
Your five minutes saved a couple hours of others. Your effort will be rewarded (not with points nor likes, but with respect and answers).
Because, in the end, almost anything
it's about effort
