kaspencer (3/5/2010)
I think that I am probably one of those who has been criticised in this thread because I have complained about a number of the questions written for SQLServerCentral.I am sorry if some respondents consider that I have been fickle, or overly fussy, but I really do believe that if one is to set questions on a platform such as SQLServerCentral, then one must be careful to ensure that the questions are properly phrased, in correct English, and that any assumptions are stated. And by "assumptions" I am not meaning those that one or two correspondents have taken ad absurdum - I mean for example, that if a table name is specified in the question, then it should exist in one of the standard or demo databases that are available for SQLServer, and that database should be referred to in the question. It is also only right and fair that if some specific user privileges or permissions are required then they too should be specified.
Where are the guidelines for questions? Where are the responses from the moderators?
If one wishes to place questions on this platform, one is assuming a position of authority; in some ways one might be regarded as a professional examiner in this subject. In order to claim that authoritative position, then one must aspire to certain professional standards in the the questions posed. Otherwise stick to providing answers, not questions!
Kenneth Spencer
First, most people that have submitted QotD are not authoritive individuals nor professional examiners in the subject. Some are people learning just like you that have found something interesting and took the time to write up a QotD for others to answer and learn from as well. The only exception I would have to thins would be individuals like Paul Randal that who sometimes submit QotD to SSC.
As for requiring that any tables/databases be standard or demo databases, I fully disagree. For instance, we don't have any of the demo databases installed on our development or production servers here at work. If we could get the sandbox server we have requested for several years, then I'd have those databases available at work as we would use those for experimenting.
I'd like to see you submit a QotD (and yes I am working on one myself, just haven't had much time to work on it due to work at the moment), and see how you do. As I said earlier, this question required some thought and some basic assumptions to arrive at the correct answer, and it didn't require trying to run the code to find out what the answer was before selecting it either.
The QotD is not an examination question, it is meant to make people think and test their knowledge, and with that, the discussions are very important. Too bad that for some they choose to gripe and complain.