Is it OK to suggest the OP change his approach in order to offer a new answer to the question ?

Question

I just went through a question on Stack Overflow, in which the OP just said that he wants to get the click event of textboxes that are in a div. As everybody knows, in jQuery you can traverse multiple ways to reach an element.

But one person's answer is not an answer of the current question; instead he suggested using an id and using that id in a selector.

I just find that approach a bit wrong, instead of giving an answer to the question, he is asking the OP to change his approach. I commented there about this.

Finally he advised me to post this question and ask the community if his approach was right, changing the question and answering according to his situation, instead of what the OP asked for?

I understand this question may be a bit off topic on Meta, but I don't understand where I can get a reply to this question.

Answer 1

I was brought up to same question today. The OP was asking about a particular problem he had while using specific methods i.e. css transitions and toggleClass(). But, one of the answerer suggested a different approach instead of trying to solve the problem. The answerer is the same person who answered with an analogy above. So here is my version of this analogy:

If some one is asking about a problem "I was trying to fish using a net, but as soon as I threw the net, the net didn't spread fully so I ended up catching only 1 fish :(, what to do?"

The answer should not give an alternate approach like:

Use bombs instead, its much easy and you will catch lots of fish within minutes.

The OP is having a problem with a method and is expecting some sort of guidance on solving the problem. So its more important to correct him, show his mistakes and show him how to make it work. Then may be afterwards you can tell him the easy or better approach.

It may be correct in showing him the right away but it is not correct to tell him to:

• Hey try walking, it is much easier, when the OP is having problem with jumping. or,
• Hey try ASP.net it is much easier, when OP is asking, "Why can't I run my PHP code?"

However, alternative answer are valid on the following cases:

• If OP is not sure on how to solve the problem? And/Or is taking wrong way.
• If OP is trying something extremely unnecessary or impossible when the solution is very easy or totally different from what he is doing.
• If OP has not provided his target and has posted incomplete information, then its valid to guess and suggest a proper method.

_{P.S. YES, I am exaggerating a bit, but I had to make my point. :)}

Answer 2

I like analogies, so I'll use one here.

If a person asks you for a fish, you could just give them a fish, or you teach them how to catch a fish.

If a person asks you how to catch a fish, you could tell them how to use a fishing pole, hook, and bait.

But, I think a wiser fisherman asks the person what kind of fish they are trying to catch, because fish can be caught in a number of ways. Some fish are better caught in a net rather than with a hook, while others may need a harpoon.

Sometimes people ask how to harpoon sardines, or other tiny fish, the answer could be to aim very carefully, but the better answer would be, use a net.

In this case it seems that the person was asking how to catch a particular kind of fish. That fish could be caught in several different ways.

A truly great answer would describe all the methods of catching said fish and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Answer 3

I spend the majority of my time in the jquery and javascript tags, and I make suggestions like this all the time when answering questions if I feel it's appropriate to do so. Yes, there are a million ways you could select elements and/or traverse the DOM to get references to the ones you need, but if you can edit the HTML to make that process simpler and/or faster then you should do so.

People ask questions because they have a problem they want to solve. If there's an easy way to solve their problem, but it involves modifying what they already have in a relatively small way, then people should be encouraged to suggest those changes. I find in a lot of cases I've taught them something new that they didn't know was possible.

I see the question as a frame for my answer, but I can work outside of that as and when I need to. They've (hopefully) posted what they want to achieve, and how they've attempted to solve it, but I don't feel compelled to confine myself to that latter part. If they've chosen an entirely wrong, or inappropriate, approach then they're better served by being told that and shown a better way, rather than being given an overly complicated answer just because it works around what they already have.

Answer 4

If the OP thinks that changing their approach is the preferred answer, then that should be fine.

If the OP is unable to change their approach, then don't accept the answer and the upvotes will let future users know that the second approach is also valid. Maybe even preferred.

The upvotes will validate the second approach and still give someone a chance to give an answer on how to make the original approach work.