That is called the XY problem[0]. It is a fairly common practice especially in technical IRC channels. Honestly, it can be very frustrating but a lot of times i

That is called the XY problem[0]. It is a fairly common practice especially in technical IRC channels. Honestly, it can be very frustrating but a lot of times it is useful and actually helps both the person asking the (wrong) question and the group of people trying to provide a proper answer. Some (maybe most?) people do take it too far and even refuse giving you a straightforward answer just to be pedantic and annoying. Those types of people have made this much of a bigger problem than it actually is, however thinking about the XY problem before you ask a question is always a good idea, regardless. [0] - http://mywiki.wooledge.org/XyProblem http://mywiki.wooledge.org/XyProblem