How can one answer questions asked in SO so fast? I myself try to check if there are any new questions that I can answer, and when I do so, there are already plenty of nice answers. I do get the chance to learn more and new things, but always have been curious how can one reply so fast (within 1-5 minutes). I really appreciate SO users who try to answer questions and help us, but what method do you use to do so?
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11Funny that your question was also closed and moved to meta within ~50 seconds of being asked.– Rex MCommented Aug 3, 2009 at 19:17
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great, it does exactly what is says on the tin!– redsquareCommented Aug 3, 2009 at 19:18
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12@seg.server.fault: Well, as far as tools go, I use a browser, a keyboard, sometimes a mouse. I've been known to go so far as to use a monitor, but that's really a crutch more than a tool.– Hilarious Comedy PestoCommented Aug 3, 2009 at 19:25
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6 Answers
Ideally:
- It should be a question you already know the answer to
- You should see it very soon after it's posted
- You shouldn't need to find any supporting pages (checking links takes time)
- You should be able to type pretty fast
FWIW, I don't use the RSS feeds or anything like that. I just check the newest questions page reasonably often.
answered Aug 3, 2009 at 19:21
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Yep. My personal record is 53 seconds after the posting of the question. (That one is now my highest-voted answer, just because I have a basic knowledge of data structures and happened to refresh the page at the right time.)– mmyersCommented Aug 3, 2009 at 19:29
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@mmyers: Was that from posting to answering, or posting to accepting? My personal best for the latter is it still saying "1 minute ago" on the question when I was awarded the Big Green Tick of Goodness. Commented Aug 3, 2009 at 19:38
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1Re RSS feed: My impression is that it is way slower than the web site.– ThomasHCommented Aug 3, 2009 at 20:02
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No, it wasn't accepted until half an hour later (possibly because it was a negative answer). I don't think I've ever been accepted in less than three or four minutes. But I'd actually rather the asker gave time for answers to settle out before accepting, anyway.– mmyersCommented Aug 3, 2009 at 20:04
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1My personal best is 24 seconds after the posting of a question while doing a lab test in which I was allowed to browse the site, but I started by submitting a single sentence, so I'm not sure if that counts as cheating :) Commented Mar 14, 2012 at 4:36
...addiction...
Sometimes it helps to log on at off-peak hours. There will be fewer questions, but answers will be slower too (i.e. less competition). Jeff has said that 8AM-10AM Pacific time is the busiest time--it is when nearly everyone in US/Europe is at work.
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1Not only that, but if you quickly give an answer for something reasonably simple, it might stay on the front page for a while and you'll actually get more votes. Commented Aug 3, 2009 at 20:16
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Shouldn't that be a contradiction? Everybody is at work and everybody is monitoring SO for new questions? - I wish I would have time for this at work.– ElbonianCommented Feb 3, 2011 at 17:17
...dedication...
Depends on if English is your first language. Mine is not, so it usually takes me a few moments to write something clever. If English was my first language, I could write answers in a few seconds.
Depends on how often you hit refresh.
The refresh button on your browser is your greatest weapon.
