Are the posted questions getting worse?

  • Steve Jones - SSC Editor - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 8:54 AM

    I try to hint and ask them to do some work or show some effort. I'm happy to help, but I want them to learn a bit if I'm helping.

    I dislike when I've asked what they've done and someone just posts a solution.

    I guess that is why I find myself less likely to ask that same question as it has happened to me quite frequently when I have asked that question.

  • Steve Jones - SSC Editor - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 8:54 AM

    I try to hint and ask them to do some work or show some effort. I'm happy to help, but I want them to learn a bit if I'm helping.

    I dislike when I've asked what they've done and someone just posts a solution.

    Different people have different ways of learning that suits them. For some it might be having to do some up front work but if I'm not sure how to do something I'd much rather just see a solution that works then work out how it works after that instead of just being given hints that might not sink in to do the work myself. Though I would hope that after seeing a solution I wouldn't have to go back to ask for help with something similar.

  • Jonathan AC Roberts - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 9:18 AM

    Different people have different ways of learning that suits them. For some it might be having to do some up front work but if I'm not sure how to do something I'd much rather just see a solution that works then work out how it works after that instead of just being given hints that might not sink in to do the work myself. Though I would hope that after seeing a solution I wouldn't have to go back to ask for help with something similar.

    I'm not asking them to solve the problem or do a lot of work, but some work. Too many times someone says here's my data, I want x. I'd like them to try something, and make an effort. Too often I've seen people answer them with a query that solves this, but the person has essentially gotten free consulting from you, with zero effort.

    You're welcome to do that. I won't and don't like that.

  • Steve Jones - SSC Editor - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 8:54 AM

    Jeff Moden - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 6:15 AM

    To be honest, though, I've started to treat "basic knowledge" posts as persona non grata unless the person does show that glimmer of intellectual curiosity instead of them just asking for (demanding, it seems) a question that will help them succeed when they should already know how or at least have enough gumption to "Google the simple stuff".

    And, yes... I absolutely hate that it has come to that.

    I try to hint and ask them to do some work or show some effort. I'm happy to help, but I want them to learn a bit if I'm helping.

    I dislike when I've asked what they've done and someone just posts a solution.

    We let a new employee go today. 
    He was hired as a middle level person.  He did very well on the "personality" scale during the interviews with 6 different people.  He did excellent on the technical interview that I did with him.  The technical interview was simple, yet contained enough grey areas to determine if he "thought correctly".

    From day one, everything he did was incorrect and had to be re-done. 
    On his second day, he performed a refresh to dev from production.  This process was explained, and he was shown the documentation of the process. He proceeded to run the process with the defaults, and overwrote 21 databases on dev from production. 

    We coached him, and made it clear that we would rather have him say he didn't know how to do something as opposed to doing something that was a guess on his part.  We followed through, he seemed to understand. 
    Bam!  Next morning, he did exactly the same thing we asked him not to do because he did not understand the process and the potential ramifications. 

    He never tried to learn what to do, how it worked, or what the ramifications may have been.  He simply did a google search, and whatever he found, he did. At one point, his supervisor told him to stop googling and go ask Mike because I have the answers. He never came to me for anything.  I had to seek him out daily. 
    His entire set of work was trial and error.  He was above asking folks who were at a lower level than he was.  

    It seems like there are far too many posts these days that fit this same pattern.  And far too many people who can be given resources, who never seem to use them.

    Michael L John
    If you assassinate a DBA, would you pull a trigger?
    To properly post on a forum:
    http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/61537/

  • Michael L John - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 10:27 AM

    We let a new employee go today. 
    He was hired as a middle level person.  He did very well on the "personality" scale during the interviews with 6 different people.  He did excellent on the technical interview that I did with him.  The technical interview was simple, yet contained enough grey areas to determine if he "thought correctly".

    From day one, everything he did was incorrect and had to be re-done. 
    On his second day, he performed a refresh to dev from production.  This process was explained, and he was shown the documentation of the process. He proceeded to run the process with the defaults, and overwrote 21 databases on dev from production. 

    We coached him, and made it clear that we would rather have him say he didn't know how to do something as opposed to doing something that was a guess on his part.  We followed through, he seemed to understand. 
    Bam!  Next morning, he did exactly the same thing we asked him not to do because he did not understand the process and the potential ramifications. 

    He never tried to learn what to do, how it worked, or what the ramifications may have been.  He simply did a google search, and whatever he found, he did. At one point, his supervisor told him to stop googling and go ask Mike because I have the answers. He never came to me for anything.  I had to seek him out daily. 
    His entire set of work was trial and error.  He was above asking folks who were at a lower level than he was.  

    It seems like there are far too many posts these days that fit this same pattern.  And far too many people who can be given resources, who never seem to use them.

    I think the 3-4 hardest words for some people to say are "I don't know" or "I don't know how"
    Far too many people are unwilling to admit they don't know how to do something, so they try to muddle through, often times making things worse.  Whereas if they'd simply gone to someone else and asked for help, that would be a mark in their favor.

  • In retail, people are taught to be honest when they don't know something but also to follow it up with a promise that they will find out and get back to the customer as soon as possible. It keeps customers calmer when the associate is willing to go that "extra mile" but also not make crap up.

    I've taken that into my IT work as gospel for all industries.

    Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

  • And ask locally (your own group/company) before hitting the internet with Google/Bing.
  • WHEE!

    Just got a text from my mom, who is watching the munchkin.

    Guess who just figured out how to do that silly clapping thing Mommy & Daddy have been trying to teach him?

    Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

  • Brandie Tarvin - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 11:24 AM

    WHEE!

    Just got a text from my mom, who is watching the munchkin.

    Guess who just figured out how to do that silly clapping thing Mommy & Daddy have been trying to teach him?

    Your Mom.  😀

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • Jeff Moden - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 11:30 AM

    Brandie Tarvin - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 11:24 AM

    WHEE!

    Just got a text from my mom, who is watching the munchkin.

    Guess who just figured out how to do that silly clapping thing Mommy & Daddy have been trying to teach him?

    Your Mom.  😀

    <THWACK>

    Brandie Tarvin, MCITP Database AdministratorLiveJournal Blog: http://brandietarvin.livejournal.com/[/url]On LinkedIn!, Google+, and Twitter.Freelance Writer: ShadowrunLatchkeys: Nevermore, Latchkeys: The Bootleg War, and Latchkeys: Roscoes in the Night are now available on Nook and Kindle.

  • Wait a second here, Jeff.  Brandie said "trying to teach HIM," not "...her" so wouldn't this instead be:
    Your Dad?
    :hehe:

  • jasona.work - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 12:12 PM

    Wait a second here, Jeff.  Brandie said "trying to teach HIM," not "...her" so wouldn't this instead be:
    Your Dad?
    :hehe:

    ahhh.. poor munchkin learned something new.  guess dad is now going to suffer a bit 😀

  • Michael L John - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 10:27 AM

    We let a new employee go today. 
    He was hired as a middle level person.  He did very well on the "personality" scale during the interviews with 6 different people.  He did excellent on the technical interview that I did with him.  The technical interview was simple, yet contained enough grey areas to determine if he "thought correctly".

    From day one, everything he did was incorrect and had to be re-done. 
    On his second day, he performed a refresh to dev from production.  This process was explained, and he was shown the documentation of the process. He proceeded to run the process with the defaults, and overwrote 21 databases on dev from production. 

    We coached him, and made it clear that we would rather have him say he didn't know how to do something as opposed to doing something that was a guess on his part.  We followed through, he seemed to understand. 
    Bam!  Next morning, he did exactly the same thing we asked him not to do because he did not understand the process and the potential ramifications. 

    He never tried to learn what to do, how it worked, or what the ramifications may have been.  He simply did a google search, and whatever he found, he did. At one point, his supervisor told him to stop googling and go ask Mike because I have the answers. He never came to me for anything.  I had to seek him out daily. 
    His entire set of work was trial and error.  He was above asking folks who were at a lower level than he was.  

    It seems like there are far too many posts these days that fit this same pattern.  And far too many people who can be given resources, who never seem to use them.

    So you're saying, I just have to do better than him to work there?

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  • jonathan.crawford - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 12:35 PM

    So you're saying, I just have to do better than him to work there?

    Well, the bar is pretty low.  They did hire me!

    Michael L John
    If you assassinate a DBA, would you pull a trigger?
    To properly post on a forum:
    http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/61537/

  • Jeff Moden - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 11:30 AM

    Brandie Tarvin - Wednesday, October 24, 2018 11:24 AM

    WHEE!

    Just got a text from my mom, who is watching the munchkin.

    Guess who just figured out how to do that silly clapping thing Mommy & Daddy have been trying to teach him?

    Your Mom.  😀

    lmao

    <hr noshade size=1 width=250 color=#BBC8E5> Regards,Jeffery Williams http://www.linkedin.com/in/jwilliamsoh

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