Good Answers Need Good Questions
06 Sep 2018Smarter Questions –> Smarter Answers
At some point in anyone’s professional career they will encounter something that they are unable to solve. While some take the appropriate steps toward seeking help, others chose the “loser” way. The goal of this essay is to educate you on how to ask questions in a way that will yield useful answers.
The Wrong Way
In this question, the asker is very vague. He even goes as far as saying, “I can’t post code for work reasons.” This alone makes his problem very difficult to solve. Even if he had been able to post source code that others could look at, the question still lacks details that are needed for the solution. It could work if he stated his overreaching goal and allowed others to help him get to it. However, he wanted a quick fix for something that he could not provide enough information on.
The Right Way
Unlike the previous question, this asker provides specific information such as the exact error message. He even formats it correctly as code. The asker provides exact details on the version of the software and the operating system he is running on. Although his question was presented well, he could have been more specific with what he has tried and research. Other then that, this is a good example of how to ask a smart question.