How to ask smart questions question

[Martin P. Hellwig]

Carl Banks wrote:
> On May 26, 7:48 am, Gary Herron <gher... at islandtraining.com> wrote:
>> John wrote:
>>> I'm okay with init, but it seems to me that enter is redundant since
>>> it appears that anything you want to execute in enter can be done in
>>> init.
>> The proper response to a question like this has to be
>>    http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>> as anything else is complete guesswork.
> 
> Is there a Cliff's Notes version of this?
> 
> I may be a cynic but I would think the people who ask bad questions
> are the same sort of people who won't have the patience to sit though
> this behemoth of an essay.
> 
> And I may be a romantic but I would think most people who post this
> are really trying to be helpful and not just saying, "Out of my midst,
> vile newbie, until thou hearkenst unto the sacred words".
> 
> So, it would seem that a summary (with citations) of the essay would
> be useful.
> 
> 
> Carl Banks

I can do a quick one albeit without citation:

- Have you googled/searched?
- No really, have you?
- Are you really, really sure?

- So what did you 'search for|tried before' which didn't returned a 
result you can work with?
- What does that tell you about yourself?
- So what do _you_ think _you_ should do first to solve _your_ problem?

- Okay, fair enough, tell me your problem, give me some background, give 
me some examples, skip the waffling, be polite I am here out of my own 
good will.

A: See you haven't searched properly | Hmm intriguing | Seems like a 
bug, contact the author

-- 
MPH
http://blog.dcuktec.com
'If consumed, best digested with added seasoning to own preference.'