I might be pre-empting Zigster on this but I am increasing seeing a large number of ill-thought-out, low-quality questions on the board, particularly in the Bioinformatics category.
I realise this is par for the course on the Internet but can we as a community think of a way of improving matters. We need to discourage questions being asked which can be rapidly solved by methods such as a) a simple Google search b) reading back through old threads c) reading the software documentation or perhaps even contacting the author of the software in question.
Also, I hesitate to bring this up but a little bit of thanks from OPs for answering their questions wouldn't go amiss. I realise we have all sorts of languages and cultures represented here but regular contributors give up their own time to answer questions with little reward. A simple thank you goes a long way!
This is in no way a criticism of ECO or SeqAnswers as a forum (I love you both), more an attempt to kick off discussion about how the board can continue to improve without the signal:noise ratio deteriorating!
Do we need better policies? More moderation? What?
Cheers
Nick
I realise this is par for the course on the Internet but can we as a community think of a way of improving matters. We need to discourage questions being asked which can be rapidly solved by methods such as a) a simple Google search b) reading back through old threads c) reading the software documentation or perhaps even contacting the author of the software in question.
Also, I hesitate to bring this up but a little bit of thanks from OPs for answering their questions wouldn't go amiss. I realise we have all sorts of languages and cultures represented here but regular contributors give up their own time to answer questions with little reward. A simple thank you goes a long way!
This is in no way a criticism of ECO or SeqAnswers as a forum (I love you both), more an attempt to kick off discussion about how the board can continue to improve without the signal:noise ratio deteriorating!
Do we need better policies? More moderation? What?
Cheers
Nick
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