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This looks like a problem that would be solved by splitting that Python manual page. All the information is there, it's just that the whole page is rather long and it's possible to miss that it is in there.
Lesson learned is that if Google returns a result that doesn't appear to match your request, then ctrl-f is your friend. This applies in many areas besides programming.
Back when any question you would ask would have at least 20000 answers it seemed only the pages never contained the text, they only where in the index because of some link with that text.
But, that said… I'm not sure this is a particularly convincing example of this phenomenon. This is an example of something which can easily be found by reading the documentation, and I'm not convinced that Stack Overflow is the correct place to ask for other people to do your research for you! In individual cases I don't doubt that it's fine, but I imagine it gets frustrating to deal with repeated questions of this character, especially when we now have the benefit of such easily-accessible online documentation.
There is a balance to be struck, I guess. No reason to be rude even when silly questions are being asked.
Just as the article observes, it's really ironic that many, many google searches for "how to do X in language Y" lead to questions on SO that are marked as [closed], 'not a good question', etc. Often, the accepted answer is a variation of RTFM, but sometimes with an inline code example. Also ironic is when the question asks for help in choosing between frameworks or libraries of comparable functionality and it gets m…
Read the FAQ and you will know.
This looks like a problem that would be solved by splitting that Python manual page. All the information is there, it's just that the whole page is rather long and it's possible to miss that it is in there.
Great, so you've learnt something for next time.
> Beginners need guidance. They’re dumb and they flail around and they get stuck on “easy” problems. That’s why resources like Learn Python the Hard Way and Stack Overflow exist in the first place.
Sorry, but no. "Stack Overflow is for professional and enthusiast programmers, people who write code because they love it." Stack Overflow's biggest problem is that frequent contributors are getting fed up with the torrent of newbie questions from people who haven't programmed for a month.
Imagine joining Math Overflow because you're an enthusiast mathematician... only 19 of every 20 questions are about how to multiply two digit numbers. Imagine joining a DIY group after years of practice only to find that you spend most of your time building cubes out of playdough and sticks. Have you tried reading the new queue on Stack Overflow? What does this[1] even mean? (I'm actually kind'a shocked about how good it's looking right now; only about half of the questions are utterly irredeemable.)
People from the outside don't see this. There are filters in place and people who care to make them work. So all you see is the hostility and none of the reason. But please believe me when I say that it's not just us being cronies. We really do care about the site, and we just don't want to lose it.
[1]: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/37779153/how-to-enable-di...
I had been participating in Stack Overflow since its public beta (though I'm not an active participant anymore), and this topic comes up every now and then, but the astronomical growth of Stack Overflow has not stopped. The composition of all-time high users are also quite a bit different from a few years ago. I am not saying there is not a problem, but I take complaints like this with a grain of salt these days. End…
With time you'll both learn to identify these and to write your questions in a way that it reflects that you've "done your research."
Amen. In my opinion, SO has become a very toxic and discouraging community to participate in. It's a shame.
I think it's a bit like Wikipedia: the more you hang around, the less you like it. It's understandable though; after the 12324th question that basically boils down to "please do my homework", even a saint would lose his shit. It's the inevitable fate of every "beginners' resource", from IRC to forums, in the long run. Personally, I had decent experiences in most cases. I never got over the fact that it refuses to bec…
> Maybe the original asker and I should have done ctrl + f for r% — but that didn’t occur to me, so I assume it didn’t occur to them either. Great, so you've learnt something for next time. > Beginners need guidance. They’re dumb and they flail around and they get stuck on “easy” problems. That’s why resources like Learn Python the Hard Way and Stack Overflow exist in the first place. Sorry, but no. "Stack Overflow i…
When the site clearly looks like as a place for noobs to get questions answered for free then maybe don't complain that you get just that.