Questions tagged [etiquette]
Etiquette is the norms and standards of accepted behavior and politeness in our community. The golden rule is "Think before you post."
774
questions
7
votes
5
answers
296
views
Going easy on new users [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Could we please be a bit nicer to the noobs?
Should we go a bit easy on new users to SOFU?
Regularly I've come across an answer posted by someone with only 1 rep, and it ...
6
votes
2
answers
112
views
Asking questions for feedback on your own programming techniques
I worked on an algorithm as part of my research back when I was doing a thesis and am curious how it would be received by the programming community at large (I already know how it was received ...
3
votes
1
answer
128
views
Responsible use of animated images
Is it permissible to include an animated image if it is used responsibly and illustrates a point more efficiently than a written explanation?
If so, are there any file size or dimension restrictions ...
192
votes
12
answers
6k
views
Asking users to accept answer when they comment that it answers their question
I've had a couple of answers today where the OP indicated via a comment that I solved their problem, but the question wasn't upvoted or accepted. In both cases the person probably wasn't able to ...
11
votes
2
answers
647
views
My improved answer based on another's accepted answer for my own question
Yesterday, I asked a question in which I stated a primary requirement but also asked for an optional improvement. The primary requirement was answered perfectly, and I upvoted it and accepted it. ...
2
votes
3
answers
386
views
Discussion etiquette, Google factor
Stack Overflow sites can give good answers blazingly fast, I have asked questions which have been answered in minutes which no amount of Google-fu could help me with. This is makes it a great resource....
2
votes
2
answers
98
views
What do I do with a question that's misleading once the answer has been found?
I asked this question yesterday on SU. Some sleep and few hours of investigation later, I know the actual issue and the solution, both of which I've posted in an answer. If you read the question now, ...
12
votes
3
answers
375
views
May I share some useful code I wrote on StackOverflow?
I created a bookmarklet that I think other web developers would find useful. I don't have a blog, and it's not big enough for an open source project, so I figured I'd share it on Stack Overflow, in ...
17
votes
7
answers
1k
views
Is it ok to impersonate a public figure?
An answer to one of my questions has been commented on by the POTUS ... O RLY?
While Jeff can't ask for the birth certificate of all the users, should suspected cases of impersonation be flagged by ...
10
votes
4
answers
219
views
Do you fill in an edit summary? [closed]
Personally I really hate it when developers don't add a commit message in subversion.
Here at stackoverflow I am guilty of the same crime.
Usually I'm so involved in my answer that I just forget to ...
35
votes
5
answers
481
views
Is it bad form to prompt new questioners to formally accept your answer?
Every so often I see questions with good or even clearly correct answers that go unaccepted because the questioner is a new user who hasn't quite grokked the mechanics of the site. They'll leave a ...
12
votes
6
answers
856
views
Etiquette for thanking an editor
If someone provides a good edit to my post, what is the proper way to provide feedback or thank that person? Is it necessary? I do not yet have enough rep to edit other posts, and expect that I will ...
4
votes
3
answers
185
views
What can a non moderator do when he sees an interesting question mangled by bad english?
I would be somewhat interested to see this question answered but as it is now I doubt it. It's really terrible.
How can I create an animated e-mail / SMS notification on an Android phone?
8
votes
4
answers
210
views
Is it acceptable for someone to move an author's comments into their answer?
In this question the real beauty of the accepted answer is in the detailed comments that the respondent left in response to probing questions (also in the comments).
Would moving those responses (...
3
votes
5
answers
186
views
Is it ok to edit other people's answers to add links?
Is it considered too invasive to edit someone else's answer to include some links to the suggestions they have already made.
I'm specifically talking about this answer. I was quite interested in the ...
4
votes
3
answers
100
views
Properly Releasing SO Tools onto SO, SF, and SU?
I'm wondering how I should go about informing the users of SO, SF, and SU of particular scripts/tools that can enhance their experience here on Stack Overflow. Considering the small portion of us who ...
3
votes
5
answers
5k
views
When someone answers my question correctly and completely, what should I do? [duplicate]
Good manners says to say thank you when somebody answers your question. E-mail load control suggests not replying "thanks" because it's too much e-mail and people would rather have less. I'm not sure ...
2
votes
4
answers
194
views
To close or not to close
I have posted a few questions on StackOverflow.com
They weren't asnswered even though I let them simmer for a while.
I found the answer because - hey.. I'm a real programmer.
Now, my question is .. ...
3
votes
4
answers
134
views
Using SO to petition support for [your favorite programming cause]
I just ran across this question on SO, and was completely thrown for a loop. I wanted to upvote it, downvote it, and close it all at the same time.
It isn't truly a question - the poster is stating ...
6
votes
3
answers
3k
views
How does the reputation system actually work? [duplicate]
I seem to be confused about how the reputation system on these sites works precisely. I'm trying to advance so that I can make better use of these sites and provide more useful and valuable responses, ...
34
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Can we ban the term "Stacker"?
I am a user of Stack Overflow. It is perfectly appropriate to refer to me as a SO user.
However, I am not a "stacker".
I do not stack anything, unstack anything, or restack anything as a career. I ...
244
votes
13
answers
29k
views
Embrace the non-Googlers
There seems to be a knee-jerk reaction to "easy" questions that involve quickly answering by copy/pasting embarrassing links to lmgtfy.com (or similar responses in comments, which aren't downvotable) ...
7
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Should one ask generic or specific question?
Let's assume that one has some problems with coding or designing specific project. Should one ask general question about techniques, algorithms, generic problem (anonymising the project references), ...
127
votes
17
answers
4k
views
Closing Etiquette: Why Do Some Answer *and* Close?
I've noticed quite a few cases where people not only vote to close a question, but then also answer said question. At best this is just silly, and at worst it is totally hypocritical and seems almost ...
31
votes
9
answers
1k
views
Is the "down-voting most/all answers that aren't yours" pattern considered harmful?
Emphasis: This is not a why downvote, or when is it ok to downvote, or what to do when voted down. This question is about a particular pattern of downvoting.
Recently, one of my answers was downvoted....
6
votes
5
answers
247
views
How long should I search for an answer before I ask on an SE site? [duplicate]
Naturally, before I ask a question on a forum or site like Stack Overflow, I'll first search the sites themselves and on Google for the answer.
How long should I do so before I give up and post the ...
8
votes
6
answers
555
views
Questions not having answers accepted or users not returning
I have noticed a few questions that I have answered, or that have answers, which do not have an accepted answer, mainly because the OP does not come back and flag these answers as accepted, or the OP ...
9
votes
8
answers
383
views
What kind of place should there be for "Contest" questions
Some of my favorite reads have been the "Code Golf" questions, as well as similar contests - such as the embedding an image into a Twitter message question.
What kind of role should these type of ...
9
votes
7
answers
686
views
How to deal with unwritten rules and guidelines on Stack Overflow, et al.?
I am going to piggyback on the thread about the 'horrors' of having salutations in your question. Nestled deep in the comments of that thread, someone said that using salutations are "not allowed" and ...
11
votes
4
answers
666
views
Spelling and Grammar Flag?
This question touched on it briefly but how should the spelling and grammar be handled by users who do not have enough rep to edit posts.
I often come across posts where the spelling and grammar ...
1123
votes
32
answers
120k
views
Should 'Hi', 'thanks', taglines, and salutations be removed from posts?
I edit a lot of posts every day. I often run across posts with 'Hi' and 'Thanks' on the top and the bottom of the post respectively. I also run across things like:
--User
Should these items be ...
1
vote
5
answers
144
views
Should mass tag edits/removals be throttled or put to the community for voting?
Recently I watched the bcl tag disappear in one fell swoop (over a period of 3-4 hours). While there were only around 120 questions so tagged, it was a fairly valid tag when referring to the .NET ...
119
votes
10
answers
8k
views
Posting and answering questions you have already found the answer to [duplicate]
Sometimes you spend a day or more solving a technical problem, and when you finally solve it, you may want to post it on your blog (if you have one) to share with the community.
However, most ...
7
votes
7
answers
316
views
Question/answer ratio etiquette in Stack Overflow?
I have been plagued by this strange feeling of abusing SO by asking too many questions and not answering nearly as many. I guess it takes both sorts, people who ask questions, people who answer them ...
20
votes
3
answers
917
views
How to "bump" a question that's the same as the one you wanted to ask [duplicate]
I wanted to ask a question about Hibernate and polymorphism, and before asking it I searched on Google, and lo and behold, there was already a question on SO about it. It's three weeks old and has ...
103
votes
10
answers
4k
views
How should we deal with duplicate answers?
Duplicate questions are "solved" — it's clear what to do with them, there're tools to deal with them... but what happens when two users post the same answer? This happens a fair bit, ...
-3
votes
13
answers
1k
views
How much/what kind of cursing can people get away with on SO? [duplicate]
I suggest people answer with a curse word/short phrase and if the votes on it are net positive then it should be acceptable on normal SO.
7
votes
4
answers
191
views
When the answer to a question exists on another site, what is the proper way to respond
There was a small debate which took place in the comments for podcast #58 regarding linking to an answer (such as MSDN, php.net, or other definitive sources) versus providing it inline. What is the ...
30
votes
5
answers
515
views
How do you react to an apparently uninterested questioner?
So you are camping (please excuse the MMO jargon, sometimes I just can't help myself) your own particular corner of Stack Overflow, hoping for a couple of upvotes before bed. It's freezing cold and ...
41
votes
7
answers
2k
views
Duplicate question etiquette: to delete or not to delete? [duplicate]
Let's say I'm a good Stack Overflow citizen: I have a question, I search on SO and on google to see if someone's asked the same thing, and I can't find anything that shows up, so I go ahead and post a ...
15
votes
4
answers
500
views
Are people too miserly with up votes?
Personally I up vote questions I think are useful but not necessarily important to me (I only up vote answers I understand and agree with) and I ALWAYS up vote a question I answer.
But it obvious ...
72
votes
18
answers
2k
views
Should users edit other users' posts to correct grammar and spelling problems? [duplicate]
Question says it all: Should users edit other users' posts to correct grammar and spelling problems?
I've seen arguments both ways, and lean toward yes...but...
1
vote
6
answers
294
views
Asking a question about a particular error in code [closed]
Well, I'm asking this because I have a particular nasty problem with some project I'm working on, but I'm unable to see what's going wrong. I have only been working for 2 years, so I'm quite tempeted ...
13
votes
7
answers
240
views
Is it OK that I just posted my same answer to several related questions?
I had a question that was not perfectly answered. Several weeks later I figured it out myself.
After finding related and duplicate questions I posted my answer to these other, existing questions. ...
13
votes
5
answers
219
views
On posting outside links to the answer [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Are answers that just contain links elsewhere really “good answers”?
I'm new to Stack Overflow, but have been around on various forums for a while. I have noticed ...
17
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Reviving old questions [duplicate]
Is it frowned upon to revive old questions if it's not that important? I keep finding really old questions that I could answer, but most of the time my answer is rather trivial and it feels silly to ...
7
votes
9
answers
256
views
Reusing other people's past responses
Is it permissible to link to other people's past responses in your answer? Is it rude?
What about reusing bits and pieces from other people's answers (e.g. to create the "perfect answer" over time)? ...
16
votes
8
answers
485
views
Should basic netiquette dictate that we post reasons for downvoting? [duplicate]
OK, I've just got downvoted for an answer that was previously upvoted. I'm pretty sure my answer wasn't the best, yet not the worst. It was also not a subjective question and I got a little upset ...
35
votes
10
answers
571
views
How should disputes be handled on Stack Overflow?
Update:
See Jeff Atwood's blog post: The Great Edit Wars.
As well as the usual close wars we're all familiar with I'm aware that there have been several edit / rollback and tag wars recently, some ...
5
votes
6
answers
591
views
Etiquette for providing a suggestion and not an answer
If you think you might know an answer, or have a good suggestion, should it be a comment or an answer?
Say you don't have the time currently to test your idea, or you are 80% sure, should this be a ...