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I guess. I read docs, I read code, I read SO questions, I read forum posts, I read blog posts, I read chat histories, I read GitHub issues. And then, after I

• jagged-chisel 3y ago
  Similar here. People still get annoyed when I ask. Dude, I’m just trying to save time. You can say “I don’t know” and I’ll go read. You don’t have to talk in circles, you don’t have the make something up (that will often be wrong), just admit the truth.
  • chankstein38 3y ago
    Right? I hate when I ask someone something and their response is to go way overboard in answering. "Do you have time for a 30min video call to talk about it?" kinds of things. I mean, obviously it's appreciated but if you don't know (just say so) or if it's that massive just point me at an article or a nice reference pull request or something.
    • JuanPosadas 3y ago
      The "I can't communicate anything without a full video chat" types are the worst for sure.
      • LoganDark 3y ago
        The "video" types are the worst. Talk to me over text only. Phone calls are also unacceptable.
  • mgaunard 3y ago
    You should do your own research before disrupting others. It's basic politeness.
    • jagged-chisel 3y ago
      Oh, I’m not going out of the way to find someone to interrupt. But we’re already having a meeting or discussion and by the way, do you have any quick tidbits on this thing? Especially if the thing was a new topic in the meeting. I’m happy to research and guess. But if it’s convenient (for everyone) I’ll pipe up asking for whatever morsels you have that will save time.
    • aeonik 3y ago
      Research takes too long if you have access to sources directly. Documentation is rigid, and assumes the reader has some level of familiarity and state. Growing up on the Internet has led, for me, to have a very eclectic and fragmented knowledge base. Speaking with someone affords me to skip all the BS and more precisely target the information I'm after, it also gives the other person the opportunity to spot and fix XY problems, or to refer me to somewhere that will be more fruitful. Also, I don't know where the threshold for "polite" is. I can research something for a decade, and people will still be frustrated with me.
• acatnamedjoe 3y ago
  Did you also guess what the article was about based on just the title?
• chankstein38 3y ago
  Same. I have had it get me in trouble before because I was described as "developing like a gopher" where I disappear into a hole for _x_ time and then pop out with a bunch of questions or the entire ask completed without any input and both of those things tended to be negative as well. I'm not sure how to handle it sometimes. It seems like asking too many questions can get me judged and potentially make people see me as stupid. But trying to figure it out myself rubs people the wrong way too.. It feels like the solution is some magic that makes everyone stop trying to make assumptions instead of just clarifying things but obviously that's a pipe dream.
  • nuancebydefault 3y ago
    I find, the fact that i don't understand code is, often, the mental model of mine does not fit the mental model the writer had. Often it turns out that the writer made things more complicated than needed. Over engineering is a thing. When asking questions, including "why?", people seem to start to become uncomfortable and it becomes hard to have a constructive conversation.
    • chankstein38 3y ago
      Right? It almost feels like people get defensive when you ask why. I'm just trying to understand but I ask someone why and their response ends up making me feel like I attacked them. It's weird.
  • lijok 3y ago
    I’ve taken on the attitude of “everyone is smart, therefore if I or someone else struggles to understand something, that something is badly designed” Makes it easier to ask questions, and when someone is asking you silly questions, it allows you to direct your frustration towards the subject itself rather than the person. Doesn’t work so well with things that weren’t designed however, such as physics, or Rust
    • LoganDark 3y ago
      > Doesn’t work so well with things that weren’t designed however, such as physics, or Rust Rust wasn't designed...?
• SkyPuncher 3y ago
  Wow, this nails down my feelings as well. I’ve found mentorship, especially code mentorship, to be extremely overrated. I seem to end up in two situations: * the problem I’ve run across is so far out of my depth that I don’t really know how to explain it. If I did, I’d research what I’m trying to do. A mentor either doesn’t have the time for me or can only provide a surface level explanation. * the problem is mostly within my skills, but I need to figure out a small component. Asking someone is going to annoy them for it being such a trivial piece.