Here is perspective of a relatively new programmer.

One of the hardest part about learning how to program is figuring out how to ask the right question.

Many times what I ask and what I need are not the same thing. Nothing is more frustrating then sifting through hundreds of pages of documentation looking for solution that sounds right. In short, asking good questions requires having proper context which is very, very difficult.

So, yes. Having a guide that says, "Hey, you are asking the wrong question. I'm closing this question for now, but come back after you read this" is extremely valuable feedback to the user and it helps the community. First, the link to the reference will help the original poster and other new users. Second, follow-up questions will be more focused and contextually relevant.

My modest proposal is that the community should assume the better nature of the poster. Instead of implying they are lazy, assume they lack context to ask good questions. That attitude shift alone would help a lot.

And for the 1% of you aholes making English competency an issue.... 90% of programming literature is written in English. Imagine having to learn a spoken language before you could even begin to address your technical issues. Then, when you finally do ask a question your technical issues get dismissed because you used the wrong verb tense in your sentences. Is it too much to help the poor guy out? Edit their questions and point them to the right resource so they know what to get translated. The amount of gratitude felt by the poster for your small gesture is impossible for Westerners to comprehend. The conditions I have observed Indians and Asians learning how to code would surprise you. In many cases they are literally coding their way out of poverty.

Here is perspective of a relatively new programmer.

One of the hardest part about learning how to program is figuring out how to ask the right question.

Many times what I ask and what I need are not the same thing. Nothing is more frustrating then sifting through hundreds of pages of documentation looking for solution that sounds right. In short, asking good questions requires having proper context which is very, very difficult.

So, yes. Having a guide that says, "Hey, you are asking the wrong question. I'm closing this question for now, but come back after you read this" is extremely valuable feedback to the user and it helps the community. First, the link to the reference will help the original poster and other new users. Second, follow-up questions will be more focused and contextually relevant.

My modest proposal is that the community should assume the better nature of the poster. Instead of implying they are lazy, assume they lack context to ask good questions. That attitude shift alone would help a lot.

And for the 1% of you making English competency an issue.... 90% of programming literature is written in English. Imagine having to learn a spoken language before you could even begin to address your technical issues. Then, when you finally do ask a question your technical issues get dismissed because you used the wrong verb tense in your sentences. Is it too much to help the poor guy out? Edit their questions and point them to the right resource so they know what to get translated. The amount of gratitude felt by the poster for your small gesture is impossible for Westerners to comprehend. The conditions I have observed Indians and Asians learning how to code would surprise you. In many cases they are literally coding their way out of poverty.

Here is perspective of a relatively new programmer.

On of the hardest part about learning how to program is figuring out what questions to ask.

Many times what I ask and what I need are usually two different things. Nothing is more frustrating then sifting through hundreds of pages of documentation looking for solution that sounds likes what I need. In short, asking good questions requires having proper context which is very, very difficult.

So, yes. Having a guide that says, "Hey, your asking the wrong question. Read this and come back" is extremely valuable feedback to the user and it helps the community. First, the link to the reference will help the original poster and new user. Second, follow-up questions will be more focused and contextually relevant.

People don't mind if you call their question stupid if you tell them why. The community should assume that a poster not reading the docs is a symptom of having the wrong context instead of the poster being lazy. That attitude shift alone would help a lot.

And for the 1% of you aholes making English competency an issue.... 90% of programming literature is written in English. Imagine having to learn a spoken language before you could even begin to address your technical issues. Then, when you finally do ask a question your technical issues get dismissed because you used the wrong verb tense in your sentences. Is it too much to help the poor guy out. Edit their questions and point them to the right resource so they know what to get translated. The amount of gratitude for this small gesture felt on the other end for your small is almost impossible for Westerners to comprehend.

Here is perspective of a relatively new programmer.

One of the hardest part about learning how to program is figuring out how to ask the right question.

Many times what I ask and what I need are not the same thing. Nothing is more frustrating then sifting through hundreds of pages of documentation looking for solution that sounds right. In short, asking good questions requires having proper context which is very, very difficult.

So, yes. Having a guide that says, "Hey, you are asking the wrong question. I'm closing this question for now, but come back after you read this" is extremely valuable feedback to the user and it helps the community. First, the link to the reference will help the original poster and other new users. Second, follow-up questions will be more focused and contextually relevant.

My modest proposal is that the community should assume the better nature of the poster. Instead of implying they are lazy, assume they lack context to ask good questions. That attitude shift alone would help a lot.

And for the 1% of you aholes making English competency an issue.... 90% of programming literature is written in English. Imagine having to learn a spoken language before you could even begin to address your technical issues. Then, when you finally do ask a question your technical issues get dismissed because you used the wrong verb tense in your sentences. Is it too much to help the poor guy out? Edit their questions and point them to the right resource so they know what to get translated. The amount of gratitude felt by the poster for your small gesture is impossible for Westerners to comprehend. The conditions I have observed Indians and Asians learning how to code would surprise you. In many cases they are literally coding their way out of poverty.