Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help

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Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help

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Jeff Moden

Posted Monday, November 26, 2007 9:22 PM

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Comments posted to this topic are about the item Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help

--Jeff Moden

"RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for "Row-By-Agonizing-Row".

First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
Stop thinking about what you want to do to a row... think, instead, of what you want to do to a column."

For better, quicker answers on T-SQL questions, click on the following...
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/

For better answers on performance questions, click on the following...
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/SQLServerCentral/66909/

Post #426135

Jeff Moden

Posted Monday, November 26, 2007 10:09 PM

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Heh... guess I hit someone's "sweet" spot... got 1 vote with 1 star so far and they didn't even take the time to post what their complaint was :D

--Jeff Moden

Post #426149

Mike C

Posted Monday, November 26, 2007 10:23 PM

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Hey Jeff, people trying to get answers in the newsgroups can certainly learn from your experience. The only thing I would add is that it also helps if people post expected results (the explanations aren't always clear) and the thing about cross-posting to multiple newsgroups instead of posting the same question to 10 different newsgroups 10 different times.

Post #426157

Jeff Moden

Posted Monday, November 26, 2007 11:04 PM

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Thanks for the feedback, Mike.

Yep... folks on news groups could learn a thing or two about how to post questions, as well. Some folks just don't understand how much better an answer you can get if you post some easy to use test data.

And, I absolutely agree... post on one thread and post some expected results to go along with the data.

--Jeff Moden

Post #426182

Bad dog

Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2007 12:13 AM

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Hi Jeff

You raise a point that goes beyond just posting on forums - In the general office situation this is also common: People ask questions without being clear and actually expect you to write their code for them. Worse still, they hold you accountable if it doesn't work. It never ceases to amaze me how people who don't have a clue would sooner spend an entire day trying to get someone else to solve their problem than spend the day doing some research to figure out and understand SQL better (and there is no shortage of fantastic resources: books online, books from Amazon etc.)
In the office situation, I've resorted to giving answers like "You could probably solve this using the DateDiff function, you can read up on how it works in books online" - point someone in the right direction but don't write the code for them. This way they have to figure it out for themselves and be accountable for their solution, and they are far less likely to ask you the same question again in a weeks time.

Its a sad truth that there are people out there who claim to be programmers when all they can do is copy code off the web and don't really understand the fundamentals of programming.

I couldn't agree more with your statement that if you don't take your code / problem seriously, why would anyone else.

Post #426198

Phil Factor

Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2007 1:57 AM

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I couldn't agree more with Jeff. I really enjoy solving problems if they are well presented, and loathe doing so if the problem is badly expressed. What irritates me is when a question can be answered by anyone by a simple search on the internet.

It is a really good habit to take care and thought in describing a problem. I suspect that the very process of presenting and describing a problem often makes the solution suddenly pop into the head.

Best wishes,

Phil Factor
Simple Talk

Post #426214

GilaMonster

Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2007 2:38 AM

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Nice. I'm also a little tired of people looking for a free lunch.

Problem is, those who need it most will likely not be the people who read it.

Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008, MVP
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

We walk in the dark places no others will enter
We stand on the bridge and no one may pass

Post #426234

Doug Wittich-466168

Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2007 5:20 AM

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My pet peeve besides those given already: Poor choice of subject. So many "Newbie needs help" and "help me" threads abound. I'd much rather see a topical subject.

Post #426311

Jason Selburg

Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2007 6:02 AM

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My fingers are crossed that people actually read this article!

Maybe get Steve to include something like this in the new user sign-up... :D

______________________________________________________________________

Personal Motto: Why push the envelope when you can just open it?

If you follow the direction given HERE you'll likely increase the number and quality of responses you get to your question.

Jason L. Selburg

Post #426330

Bob Fazio

Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2007 6:53 AM

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You realize that the only ones who will read that article are those that know how to post Sad

However, is it just me or did Jeff's post of the "Bad Code" not show up? Had a slider, but no code.

Post #426353

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