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How is pointing out 1. That the SNR of the answers here isn’t the best and there may be venues with better expertise (with a specific example) and 2. Pointing o

How is pointing out 1. That the SNR of the answers here isn’t the best and there may be venues with better expertise (with a specific example) and 2. Pointing out the potential scope of work in any way actively discouraging?

waynesonfire 4y ago
Because it doesn't address the OPs question. "I'm interested in writing a x86_64 Linux driver for my 15 year old photo printer." Is a very clear statement. Maybe if they had solicited, "how difficult would this be?" -- but that was not asked. Iterating how difficult the project is doesn't move the needle forward and in fact, does the opposite and is not at all helpful to the OP. Don't project your inadequacies.
- pessimizer 4y ago
  Every single sentence in fuckstick's answer is helpful and responsive to someone who is interested in writing a driver for their printer. Including the discouragement, which communicates an expert opinion of the amount of work involved. Can't believe I'm defending a fuckstick rn, but here we are.
- AshamedCaptain 4y ago
  > "I'm interested in writing a x86_64 Linux driver for my 15 year old photo printer." [...] is a very clear statement. The problem is, everyone who knows a thing about "Printer drivers" shivers when they read that statement, in part because it mentions Linux or x86_64, which kind of implies some level of confusion. Also, it doesn't mention whether he's doing it for the sake of an old printer (which then makes the question the wrong thing to ask -- rather you should ask "I want to make my printer work with x86_64 Linux" -- which likely has a much simpler answer) or the sake of how to learn to write Linux printer drivers (which makes the question bizarre -- there are no Linux printer drivers per se). > Iterating how difficult the project is doesn't move the needle forward and in fact, does the opposite and is not at all helpful to the OP. Don't project your inadequacies This is really the wrong take here. If someone asks "I want to learn to pave roads for 4-wheel bikes" you don't answer with "OK, tarmac is made with crushed stone, tar, ...". You answer with "WTF are you doing this for?". Because it's highly likely that the questioner is having some type of confusion, rather than explicitly wanting to make such a strange request. As Eric S. Raymond put long ago: > Often, people who need technical help have a high-level goal in mind and get stuck on what they think is one particular path towards the goal. They come for help with the step, but don't realize that the path is wrong. It can take substantial effort to get past this. By not addressing the user's exact question, and considering the user's final goal, you may be moving the needle much forward than if you just blindly answer it like some people have done here.
- dahart 4y ago
  > Maybe if they had solicited, “how difficult would this be?” — but that was not asked. Yes it was. OP asked for a “low hassle” solution, explicitly soliciting low difficulty level.

waynesonfire 4y ago

Because it doesn't address the OPs question. "I'm interested in writing a x86_64 Linux driver for my 15 year old photo printer." Is a very clear statement. Maybe if they had solicited, "how difficult would this be?" -- but that was not asked. Iterating how difficult the project is doesn't move the needle forward and in fact, does the opposite and is not at all helpful to the OP. Don't project your inadequacies.

pessimizer 4y ago
Every single sentence in fuckstick's answer is helpful and responsive to someone who is interested in writing a driver for their printer. Including the discouragement, which communicates an expert opinion of the amount of work involved. Can't believe I'm defending a fuckstick rn, but here we are.
AshamedCaptain 4y ago
> "I'm interested in writing a x86_64 Linux driver for my 15 year old photo printer." [...] is a very clear statement. The problem is, everyone who knows a thing about "Printer drivers" shivers when they read that statement, in part because it mentions Linux or x86_64, which kind of implies some level of confusion. Also, it doesn't mention whether he's doing it for the sake of an old printer (which then makes the question the wrong thing to ask -- rather you should ask "I want to make my printer work with x86_64 Linux" -- which likely has a much simpler answer) or the sake of how to learn to write Linux printer drivers (which makes the question bizarre -- there are no Linux printer drivers per se). > Iterating how difficult the project is doesn't move the needle forward and in fact, does the opposite and is not at all helpful to the OP. Don't project your inadequacies This is really the wrong take here. If someone asks "I want to learn to pave roads for 4-wheel bikes" you don't answer with "OK, tarmac is made with crushed stone, tar, ...". You answer with "WTF are you doing this for?". Because it's highly likely that the questioner is having some type of confusion, rather than explicitly wanting to make such a strange request. As Eric S. Raymond put long ago: > Often, people who need technical help have a high-level goal in mind and get stuck on what they think is one particular path towards the goal. They come for help with the step, but don't realize that the path is wrong. It can take substantial effort to get past this. By not addressing the user's exact question, and considering the user's final goal, you may be moving the needle much forward than if you just blindly answer it like some people have done here.
dahart 4y ago
> Maybe if they had solicited, “how difficult would this be?” — but that was not asked. Yes it was. OP asked for a “low hassle” solution, explicitly soliciting low difficulty level.