How is the legality of questions related to debugging code regulated?

Question

Toaster

From time to time I see questions like:

• Where is the error here?
  
• Why doesn't my code work? (or someone else's code)
  
• etc. (the wording in the title could be more accurate, but this does not change the essence)
  

In general, the solution is to find the cause by debugging the code. At the same time, the question usually does not look like a task, that is, it does not fall under clause 5.12. (tasks and assignments) . In general, such a question is rarely complained about, and even willingly tries to help the author.

But from my point of view, this is the most that neither is the task. But with some reservations! And these reservations do not allow us to divide into black and white, unfortunately.

It is obvious that such a question has an unambiguous answer - an indication of the place where the error is contained. This will be the solution. But finding this bug generally requires recreating a test environment to run the code. After all, debugging in any case involves the execution of code in order to test hypotheses. And there can be a lot of hypotheses themselves. Therefore, without debugging, the answer is not unambiguous, by type: it can be A, B, or C, or anything else.

Periodically it happens that the code is short, and an experienced programmer can do debugging as if in his mind. But it's still a fix! One way or another, the answerer needs to completely download the code into his head (albeit a short one) in order to capture the essence of his work and find a logical error. Or go through the instructions with your eyes and find a syntax error - this is also debugging.

Sometimes the author of the question provides code, but does not say what kind of error occurred, but simply complains that "the code does not work" or "something went wrong", "it does not work", etc. Sometimes even the code itself does not result. Or, on the contrary, copy-paste the code for 200+ lines. As a rule, the author does not list what he has already tried and what has not (and what worked and what did not). As a result, the question practically boils down to "please do the debugging for me."

But sorry, what?! Didn't hear about debugging at all? Who then is the author of the question? Is he a programmer or what? Or who ? Or a customer who is too lazy to hire a specialist, but for some reason he got into the code and tries to correct errors in it?

As the answerer, I try to solve the problem first of all of the one who asks the question. But what is considered a problem in such matters? Is this a software problem in general, or is it the author's problem that he got into something other than his own field? Or if the latter, how can he point it out so that it does not look too rude, not like a message? After all, if the author is sent to gain experience or study, then this will NOT solve this particular problem, which HE considers a problem here and now. Moreover, if the author considers this resource as a source of free programmers who, on the other end of the wire, will do debugging for him (that is, in fact, work for the author), then the very desire to answer disappears.

And if you still do such a strange "debugging", then you get a "damaged phone". Run that, type this in the console, try this .... and if like this? and if so, then what? Reminds me a bit of those. support.

The most interesting thing is that some questions are really worthy of being answered. These are questions that contain a certain paradox .. That is, the author of the question provides all the necessary information, briefly tells what he has already tried and where exactly the plug is, and a certain contradiction follows from the text of the question. That is, the author says: "There can be no error here because of this and that, I figured it out, but in fact there is an error. How is it? Why is it so? Am I crazy or has the universe gone crazy?" Here is something from this series that is really interesting, and at the same time it concerns debugging. At the same time, these are usually some simple examples of ala 0.1 + 0.2 == 0.3or code for 5-10 lines, no more, so that anyone can easily try it for themselves and make sure.

TL;DR
So what about questions like this? The complaint "the answer requires debugging" is not yet provided. If you still do debugging, then in fact it is work. And even if this work is done, it will be a disservice to the author who wants to be a programmer. And sending the author to study is usually not the answer from the author's point of view.

Answer 1

As a result, the question practically boils down to "please do the debugging for me."
But sorry, what?! Didn't hear about debugging at all? Who then is the author of the question? Is he a programmer or what? Or who ?

First of all, he is human !
He is a man who decided to ask for help.
A person is more than just a cog in the system, who, as he grows up, increases competence and improves to become more useful to the system and less and less replaceable. Man has not only reason, but also feelings. Many people forget about the latter. But this is what makes everyone unique, introducing irrationality into the behavior and perception of the world. This is the individual beginning, which is revealed in the context of social relations and makes a person out of a person .
What does it mean to be human? Modern dictionaries put an equal sign between humanity and humanity, arguing that these words are synonyms. Humanity, in turn, is closely related to humanism. This is a philosophical and historical term. At a certain moment, a person who realizes his abilities and develops his virtues has become a value. To be humane and humane means to help not because the person who asks deserves it, but simply because he is a person and needs your help. A person deserves help already because he has an individual principle that distinguishes him not only from animals, but also from other people.

After all, if the author is sent to gain experience or study, then this will NOT solve this particular problem, which HE considers a problem here and now.

Good idea.
There is a past and a future, but, in the context of the present, the problem that is significant for a person can be exactly the one with which he came to the Toaster. This problem, if it is not solved in time, may resolve itself, become irrelevant, unimportant, and may become the basis for a coma of problems that will ultimately ruin a person’s life and hammer nails into the coffin lid.

Moreover, if the author considers this resource as a source of free programmers who, on the other end of the wire, will do debugging for him (that is, in fact, work for the author), then the very desire to answer disappears.

You cannot know exactly the intentions of another person. You can only make predictions based on the information you have. Considering that this is an Internet resource, you may not know anything about the author at all, except for the question and his nickname, which means that it is pointless to make predictions. Also, there is such a thing as a "fundamental attribution error". This is the tendency of a person to explain the behavior of others by their individual characteristics, and his behavior - by the situation, external circumstances.

The most interesting thing is that some questions are really worthy of being answered. These are questions that contain a certain paradox.

You can only answer the questions that YOU PERSONALLY like. Another person may find interesting for HIMSELF those questions that you found trite and boring, such as those that you described in this thread. You forget that each person is individual.

Answer 2

Any technical question can be deleted with the wording: "If you have a problem, then you either did not read the documentation, or you do not want to think." Then only those leading to the discussion will remain, which are also prohibited.
In addition to the usual need to share knowledge, questions are answered because they are interesting and the answerers too.
Helping others, you can pump yourself, in the same debugging, or study the problem that has risen in the question. If you don't need it, just pass by. Perhaps for someone the same problem will become interesting.
And in my opinion there is no difference whether the question is related to debugging or not. For someone, finding 1 character of a typo in 10 lines of code will be faster than reading 1.5 screens of text, thinking about it, and writing an answer.

Answer 3

It has been suggested more than once that all questions of this kind should only be accepted with a sandbox. Delete the rest. But the owners of the resource delete the question only as a last resort. The logic, probably, is this: here is a question that requires debugging, but suddenly they will give an answer that will hit the mark - we will fly through the roof. The rest, be patient.

Answer 4

On any modern site, the reality of the author or his intentions is often not verifiable. In the near future, questions can be generated by a neural network (with a little human moderation) - in order to additionally maintain activity on sites.

Answer 5

No one here wants your questions or your answers. Better - will not be.

Answer 6

Sorry man, I don't understand what your question is. The fact that there is a certain layer of people who want to push the search for an error in the code to someone else? For example, if I see "multi-code" - skipping the question right away - I'm reluctant to delve into it, although I can answer a simple question (especially if it involves atypical solutions). Yes, I usually try not to solve simple problems "here and now" - but ... sometimes I do :)

Answer 7

You are too categorical for many, for example, it is not entirely clear.
For example, here is an absolutely oak code, but if you run it through

npm run serve

public async getInfo(): Promise<Info> {
    const data = await axios.get(this.API_URL);
    return data.data;
  }

It turns out this, it is treated by restarting, but it is extremely unpleasant