Eric M Russell (10/10/2013)
These arn't stupid people; they're just out of their element and frustrated by what they perceive as cryptic advice provided by techie geeks. They're neither a DBA nor a developer, and have no desire to become one. Often times they're just trying to get SQL Server installed on their desktop or trying figure out why this thing that's been running fine for the past three years suddenly stopped working. They probably feel the same way I did when my mini-van kept sporatically running hot, and I got a half dozen different diagnosis from a half-dozen people claiming to be auto repair experts; all of them suggesting replacement of a different part.
A couple of points...
Eric, Totally didn't think of it from that point of view. Very nice...
Even as a long time user (ten years) of this site, I posted a question a week or so back with a lengthy explanation, some sample data and expected outcome. For my efforts, I received two "please provide DML statements and expected data" replies . My first thought was to spit back and complain about the "experts" being curt and rude. After doing the "count to ten" thing and giving it some more thought, they were pretty much correct. Sample DML for both table and data allows for people to test your issues/problems directly on a SQL server instance instead of just thinking it through in their heads.
I appreciate this site more than others (Stack Overflow, Exchange) for the fact that it doesn't make gathering points/reputation levels the main focus of the site. I also like that new users can reply and post without having to gain a certain "status" like on other sites. Programming should not be a competition on who is smarter, better or more clever, it is about gaining AND sharing the knowledge with others so they can have the "AHA" moment as well.
Thanks SQL Server Central community and keep it going.
Anton