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This isn't "the opposite extreme", this is a helpful process by which you can share context with the person you're asking help from. We usually work on challen

This isn't "the opposite extreme", this is a helpful process by which you can share context with the person you're asking help from. We usually work on challenging problems. It's unreasonable to expect to easily share relevant context when getting help from someone. I send _extremely_ detailed notes to coworkers all the time. I usually _take_ detailed notes as I work, so it's fairly easy to "package" the note for someone else's consumption. For a recursive example, this: https://josh.works/better-questions#examples https://josh.works/better-questions#examples I've documented how I ask questions and how I ask for help, so I can share it with others... who ask questions... and ask for help. >_<

alangpierce 6y ago
> We usually work on challenging problems At least for me (as someone who's more often answering the questions at my company), this varies quite a bit. Certainly sometimes there's a deep technical problem or an issue requiring genuinely tricky troubleshooting, but often it's a new hire who is still getting up to speed and didn't realize that there's some command that they need to run that will solve all of their problems. In a case like that, I worry about an environment where they feel afraid to ask a question unless they've already fought with the problem for a long time, and where they feel obligated to post an extensive write-up of the steps they've already tried. I would call that an "opposite extreme" since they're significantly less productive than they would be if they had been more willing to reach out for help early on. That's my main concern with the article: it has a tone of scolding people for the way that they ask questions, and I worry that it would cause people to be afraid to ask questions even when it would be best for them to do so. I think the ideal approach is a balance: some initial detail on the problem, but with an understanding that deeper details can come in the follow-up (which might be over chat or over a call or some other medium).

alangpierce 6y ago

> We usually work on challenging problems At least for me (as someone who's more often answering the questions at my company), this varies quite a bit. Certainly sometimes there's a deep technical problem or an issue requiring genuinely tricky troubleshooting, but often it's a new hire who is still getting up to speed and didn't realize that there's some command that they need to run that will solve all of their problems. In a case like that, I worry about an environment where they feel afraid to ask a question unless they've already fought with the problem for a long time, and where they feel obligated to post an extensive write-up of the steps they've already tried. I would call that an "opposite extreme" since they're significantly less productive than they would be if they had been more willing to reach out for help early on. That's my main concern with the article: it has a tone of scolding people for the way that they ask questions, and I worry that it would cause people to be afraid to ask questions even when it would be best for them to do so. I think the ideal approach is a balance: some initial detail on the problem, but with an understanding that deeper details can come in the follow-up (which might be over chat or over a call or some other medium).