It''s not like you get instant answers here, whenever I get a problem while coding I try my very best to solve it myself... To be on the safe side I post here for assistance as well, and check back later if I can''t find a solution myself (or for an even better solution)...
Thank you En3my! There''ve been lots of times I''ve worked and worked at a problem for hours on end. Then when I finally break down and ask someone, it turns out to be a one line error. Then there are other times I think something is going to be extremely difficult, so I post, and then within the matter of minutes, I''ve solved it. Add to that that even when you post, your turn around could be days, or never, so it''s not like posting is a sure-bet way of getting an answer. It''s just a nice backup.
Well now there are problems so f...... simple to solve that nobody cares to write their solution into a manual or you just don''t have the right book or you just can''t see the forest because there are to many trees in the sightline...
Happened to me when I tried to figure out how to calculate the new position of an object knowing its actual position, heading and speed
In these cases begging for help seems to be a very reasonable thing, don''t you think so?
------------------------------------------------------------"To a computer, chaos is just another kind of order."
Personally I don''t mind the simple question posts at all. Everyone has to start somewhere, and we get so many newbies here that realistically not everyone does know how helpful MSDN is. Not everyone is using the MSVC compiler. Not everyone has a compiler with good help.
Things that do annoy me, from most annoying to least annoying (not that I hold it against people who have done this, just that it temporarily inconveniences me, and no, I''m not mad or anything about this stuff):
People who post "just to get ratings". Moreso, people who post and actually admit in the post that they made a pointless, useless post just to get ratings. Even moreso, people who do this in the middle of a meaningful, useful discussion with good information. I delete these, and put the user on my "people to delete posts of that looks suspiciously like pointless junk" list, which means you don''t get the "benefit of the doubt that you''re trying to be helpful" card. If you''re going to waste everyone''s time, do it in the lounge.
Help wanted posts. Grrrr. These probably don''t bother you guys much because as soon as I find them, I move them to "Help Wanted". Whining that people don''t read the "Help Wanted" forum does not impress me. If people wanted to help you, they would go look in help wanted for stuff to help with. Annoying people who already have their own projects is futile.
Total junk posts. I move them to the lounge. Not moving this one because it relates to this forum specifically, but if you post here to tell us that your dog likes to chase squirrels, I will temporarily want to hurt you.
Posts that obviously want to start flame wars. Most of these involve religious zealots who consider their operating systems or programming languages a personal gift from their favorite deity, and believe that all other OS''s/languages are the works of *insert random incarnation of evil*. I have 3 options, close, warn, or delete. My choice depends on my current mood and how volatile the material is.
Posts that have things like "Help!" in the title. If you are having problems converting a CString, make the topic "Having problems converting my CString", not "Help me please". You''d be amazed how much faster your question will get answered, probably.
This isn''t too terribly annoying, but I would like to point out that if you double post, you do have the option to delete one by hitting the edit button, provided that both posts are attributed to your username. Just an aside.
Your friendly moderator, -fel
~ The opinions stated by this individual are the opinions of this individual and not the opinions of her company, any organization she might be part of, her parrot, or anyone else. ~
BZ, you do seem a bit out line. I will concede that some questions are a little grandiose, but, as it has been stated, these questions can easily be ignored, or better yet, they can be directed to on-line liturature on the subject. And, yes, I know well the feeling of satisfaction that comes from figuring something out on your on, but sometimes people need a little push in the right direction. Many of the people here are just getting into game programming, or, for that matter, programming altogether. Last I checked this was an open message board and those people were more than welcome here (I could be wrong). If you'll look closely, you'll find that the name of this message board is "General and Game Programming Discussion", not "Advance Game Programming", nor "Hardcore Elitist Game Programmers". People come here to discuss programming issues, which may include questions about problem they are having. Any good programmer should know that one of the best ways to solve a problem is to find a friend and discuss it. Many time the solution will come to you just by talking to someone else about it. Things were just fine before you stormed in here, and I don't believe that you coming in here, and bitching about the way things are run here is going to change anything. If you truly can't stand a few inocent and/or naive questions here and there then perhaps you should consider crawling back to that happy little place you seem to love so much.
Edited by - microdot on April 28, 2001 2:40:11 AM
<span class="smallfont">That is not dead which can eternal lieAnd with strange aeons even death may die. -- "The Nameless City" - H. P. Lovecraft</span>
I think you''re quite correct. I''m new to programming in Windows, DirectX etc but not to programming in general (I have been programming DOS games for a few years). I have resisted posting questions on any part this board for a couple of reasons: 1)I want to hide my status as a total win newbie (although that has now been blown) and 2)I feel it''s better to try and solve some problems yourself. And all the problems I have had - I *have* solved, just looking in the docs and reviewing the code. I have learnt a lot more a lot quicker this way. It''s true that some documentation is a bit crappy (dx''s for example) but c''mon....you''re a programmer!
I think I''ll start posting and reading a lot more once I get past the first few miles of win/dx/ogl programming and have the ability to produce something pleasing to the eye.
"You say I''m a bitch like it''s a *bad* thing..."[email=alanetcetc@hotmail.com]Mail[/email] Site
actually, um, those that are arguing the "initiate" level, uh, just because someone discovers this site and logs onto it doesn''t necessarily mean that that person is a PROGRAMMING initiate, but a GAMEDEV initiate. usually those with the high rankings are those that have PLENTY of questions, or those that give pointless posts just for rankings (no offense though NES8BIT! =) )
but WHO CARES! the rankings are GONE! =)
anyway, i know this should go into the suggestions forum, fel, but are there any plans as to incorporating a new ranking system? i was thinking of having an Advanced Form under your own Profile, and then, you just put check boxes next to known languages, and the level of experience of that language, and then, based on that, the ranking is generated. of course, artists and sound guys would have their own rankings, aside from the programming. and if people check on a programming languages AND art, then we can be of the HYBRID or CROSSBREED rank. that''d be cool. anyway, i might wanna repost this idea in another forum somewheres up top.
so, fel, when is this thread moving to the lounge?
a2k
------------------General Equation, this is Private Function reporting for duty, sir!a2k
i''m in the same boat as CGI Joe. im new to windows programmming (and game programming) though i have been programming C/C++ for almost 6 years. when i post a question on this message board that pertains to game programming its more for concepts NOT code. i enjoy figuring out the actual algorithms but when it comes to the concepts used to programming a game they''re very different from what im used to. i appreciate it when ppl respond to my posts with help or not. i help ppl here as much as im ablewhether or not i think they''re stupid questions or they didnt bother to think at all before posting. however, if i can help them out then i will...guess its just in my nature. if answering their question doesnt help them understand the concept in the long run well thats too bad but thats not my problem. i do agree that some posts here are unnecessary such as "NEHE SUCKS". but unfortunately these cant be stopped since this is an open board.
my only question to you bz is "why did you post this message?"
yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift... -TapRoot
Hehehe, define "open board". I''m quite dedicated to keeping a lid on the help wanteds, flames, and pointless stuff. If somebody posts "NEHE SUCKS" they''d darn well better have a good reason to do so or that post will be deleted (and, having recently started playing with the NeHe tutorials myself in a passing OpenGL interest, I doubt they would have a good reason, those things are awesome). No good reason, no more post.
a2k: As I have already stated in my previous post, this post is specifically related to this forum and wouldn''t make sense if moved to the lounge, therefore, here it will stay. If it gets into a pure flame war, I will close it (you''ve been warned. *smile*)
-fel
~ The opinions stated by this individual are the opinions of this individual and not the opinions of her company, any organization she might be part of, her parrot, or anyone else. ~
I don''t agree with your categorizing a post as meaningful or meaningless, because such an opinion is purely subjective. You don''t know what the person went through before posting. In most cases you know nothing at all about the person in question. None of which prevents you from stating your opinion, but it doesn''t encourage anyone to listen to you either.
That aside I agree that one should try to find the answer themselves and that doing so is productive and beneficial. Good. But don''t go around making judgements.
quote: when I started coding there was no Internet game programming sites - no messageboards. If you got stuck - you pulled out the manuals and tried to find a solution.
Not everyone is as wonderful as you That does not mean that they have any less right to help when they need it.
I feel that your post is totally unproductive. The few that do go around asking truely pointless questions will still do so, and those that really needed help will be offended.
"Two wrongs do not make a right; it usually takes 3 or more."
____________________________________________________
"Two wrongs do not make a right; it usually takes 3 or more."
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Never anger a dragon, for you are crunchy and you go well with brie.
You know, Einstien I believe said something to the effect of "Why should I memorize my phone number when I can find it in the book?".
The same philosophy holds true here, "Why should I bang my head against a wall for hours to solve a problem that someone here already knows the solution to?"
Yeah, sure. It may be a pain to answer the same question millions of times. That''s where I fault the posters. They should at least research the board first before posting the problem.
Anyway, my point is... The mark of an educated person is not that they can solve all problems encountered, but that they know where to go to find the answer.
Just my two cents worth.
I''m sure this will start a whole flame war so "let the flaming begin".
