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Questionable

How do I ask a good question?

That is a great question!

[English] [한국어]

TL;DR

Use this copypasta to answer every questionable question.
Make sure to include the source when quoting this guide :)

> How do I ask a good question?

## "Can anyone help me with ABC?"
- Don't ask if you can ask, just ask.
- Ask for an answer, not 'someone who can help'.

## You have problem X, you tried Y.
- How do I make Y work? (X)
- How do I solve X? I tried Y. (O)

## "It doesn't work" just doesn't work.
- What's the goal?
- What have you tried?
- What's wrong with the current behavior?

## Read the damn error message. Seriously.
- 90% of the time it tells you exactly where and what is wrong.
- Tip: Read the top and bottom part of the error message first.

Learn more at <https://github.com/WieeRd/questionable>

1. Don't Ask for Help, Ask a Question

Can anyone help me with ABC?
Is there anyone who uses ABC?

You're wasting time. Just ask the question.
This also implies that you're asking for "someone who can help";
expecting someone else to solve the problem for you.
Don't. Write a proper question and ask for an answer.

Learn more at https://dontasktoask.com/

2. Describe the Goal, Not the Solution

You have problem X, your solution Y failed.

  • How do I make Y work? (X)
  • How do I solve X? I tried Y. (O)

What if Y was a wrong approach in the first place?
It can end up wasting both you and the answerer's time with confusion.
Remember that the real goal is to solve X, not fixing Y.

Learn more at https://xyproblem.info/

3. Provide Enough Information

It doesn't work.

That is not a question, that's a complaint.
What is "it"? How exactly is it "not working"?

What's the Goal?

Describe the problem in terms of:

  • Expected input
  • Desired output / behavior
  • Relationship between the input & output

What Have You Tried?

Describe your attempt in detail, with the used code.
Extract the relevant part to eliminate unnecessary details.
Ideally, make the extracted code executable by itself.

What's Wrong?

Describe the current behavior and compare it with the expectation.
Always provide the full error message. Not just the error code.

I want my program to {expected output} upon {expected input}.
I tried {code example} but it produces {error | output example}.
This is not what I intended because {reason}.

4. Read the Damn Error Message

(screenshot) Why am I getting this error?

Errors are not just scary wall of text meant to frustrate us.
With the exact line number and brief description of the cause,
90% of the time they are more than enough to solve the problem.

Before you ask, please read, and not just see, the error message.

Tip: Read the top and bottom part of the error message first.

Learn More

This guide is meant to be absolutely minimal for fast and easy read.
If you're looking for more detailed resources for a further reading,
Here are some of the most useful and well known resources.

About

Hi! I'm @WieeRd, the author of this guide.
After roaming around various communities and help channels for few years,
I decided to write a guide by putting together most frequently seen mistakes.

This guide is not meant to be comprehensive or detailed.
The resources listed above already do a great job of that.
Rather, it's meant to be used as:

  • A cheat-sheet to refer to before asking questions
  • A copypasta that can be quoted when someone asks a "questionable" question

Whether you are a curious beginner full of questions, or a veteran
who got tired of manually guiding beginners to improve their questions,
I hope this guide continues to help you on your journey.
Happy Hacking!

Contributing

Want to help out improving and translating this guide?
See CONTRIBUTING.md