Answering inquiries by posters who have less knowledge and/or experience about a particular topic is a fundamental activity on most forums. I believe that AAC is no exception.

If that activity is something that bothers you, the answer is simple: don't do it. Replies that are intentionally insulting are worse than useless; any good information they may contain is lost in the context of acrimony.

Remember that we are all ignorant about some things. Some of us are ignorant about electronics and we ask "stupid" questions, but we all (and you) were ignorant at some point. Thanks to good information provided with a good attitude, we are learning a little at a time about electronics.

Common courtesy is also something that can be learned with effort and practice.

 

The other side is be honest about your skill level. This is harder than it sounds. If I spent 30 minutes or more writing something (and researching / hyperlinking) it would be nice if the target audience could follow, otherwise I will scale back my reply (something I do often). I often say no one is born knowing this stuff, so don't put on airs and try to pretend you know more than you know.

 

The other side is be honest about your skill level. This is harder than it sounds. If I spent 30 minutes or more writing something (and researching / hyperlinking) it would be nice if the target audience could follow, otherwise I will scale back my reply (something I do often). I often say no one is born knowing this stuff, so don't put on airs and try to pretend you know more than you know.

Amen, brother!! As a teacher, this is the biggest problem that I have with new/move-in students. They don't want to appear "stupid" and pretend they have a knowledge base that they don't really possess. All educational systems (and abilities) are not created the same so honestly is definitely the best policy!

 

Not me! I'm stupid, and I prove it daily.

I used to do all the research, linking, etc, and even designed the circuits for people at times. Now my time is short, so I try to just give advise without spending too much time. Sometimes, I feel like I'm cheating.

 

I have a few years' teaching experience, and I agree that students of all types can overstate their baseline knowledge. And I appreciate those here at AAC that are able to teach in their replies to questions. But, unless those questions are homework related, not every question needs a pedagogical reply.

In my case, I often spend time reading on-line or in a textbook about a topic of interest, and am baffled by some particular portion of what I have studied. I post a question here in the hope of getting clarification of that particular point. Sometimes I get exactly that, but other times I get links to the very source material that I have already read, and that precipitated my question. Worst of all, I sometimes am castigated for my "stupid" question, and told to "read the datasheet," which I have usually already done.

To misquote a hackneyed phrase, there are times when posters simply want to know what time it is, not how to choose the proper quartz for a watch movement.

 

Not me! I'm stupid, and I prove it daily.

I used to do all the research, linking, etc, and even designed the circuits for people at times. Now my time is short, so I try to just give advise without spending too much time. Sometimes, I feel like I'm cheating.

I hadn't read this when I made my previous post, but it is exactly to my point. For my purposes, yours is exactly the type of response that I want to most of my questions. If I need more than your short answer, I can always ask for it.

 

But we must also in return from any thread starter. Expect that they provide needed information like code, schematics and so on. Also that they do their best to replay. Then they are asked specific question. That are needed for the helper(s) to get the full picture. And of course follow up advices that are given, or at least try the best they can. All participants in a forum like this. Have responsibility to fulfil, else the forum will not work.

 

Indeed, that's well said! I've seen examples of "discouraging" replies here on AAC (and I say "discouraging" between quotation marks, because that is a soft word), and often they do more harm than good. They can even destroy an entire thread.

 

What's up Brownout.

It's really hard to answer when they don't poses the words to explain what they need or don't need. It's like showing someone the way out of a cave by the sound of your voice, it takes a few times to get them on track. Sometimes other members will identify the need based on questions offered in exploration of their lack of understanding.

Gradually you may or may not get their. But, you offered that's what counts and will aid the Community and grow Member Support without un-nessary negativity. Which can be infectious to point of sadistically offending new or otherwise unskilled members.

:WINK:

kv

 

In my case, I often spend time reading on-line or in a textbook about a topic of interest, and am baffled by some particular portion of what I have studied. I post a question here in the hope of getting clarification of that particular point. Sometimes I get exactly that, but other times I get links to the very source material that I have already read, and that precipitated my question.

Sometimes the OPs do not illustrate the work they've done and unfortunately, if they don't say, how are the readers to know?

I'm not saying you've failed in that aspect, but, I've gotten that thought from reading alot of questions over the years.

I can tell you by the time I've researched some OPs questions, someone else had already answered the OP, so my research was more self satisfaction then actual helping an OP.

I'm sure if any OP asked their question and stated all the research they did on their own to get an answer, the members here would have not stated the same resources for the OP to re-read. That doesn't preclude someone providing an additional link that might solidify the solution of the OPs quest.

The truth is, the readers don't know the knowledge, skills, or abilities, of the posters. That is built bit by bit with each posting. The educators on here do what they do best to guide with additional questions, which I suspect is exactly the same protocal they use in their classrooms, and they know it produces the desired results. Unfortunately, some OPs just want the answer and nothing else. They don't want to engage in the process by those educators here, and I'm surmising they don't see the benefit.