People always say there is no such thing as a bad question, but when it comes to programming, it is possible to ask a question badly. When you’re asking for help from someone who has little or no context on the problem you are trying to solve, then it’s best to ask GOOD questions by following this acronym:
- G: Give context on what you are trying to do, clearly describing the problem.
- O: Outline the things you have already tried to fix the issue.
- O: Offer your best guess as to what the problem might be. This helps the person who is helping you to not only know what you are thinking, but also know that you have done some thinking on your own.
- D: Demo what is happening. Include the code, a traceback error message, and an explanation of the steps you executed that resulted in the error. This way, the person helping does not have to try to recreate the issue.
Good questions can save a lot of time. Skipping any of these steps can result in back-and-forth conversations that can cause conflict. As a beginner, you want to make sure you ask good questions so that you practice communicating your thought process, and so that people who help you will be happy to continue helping you.
avinashhm on Aug. 15, 2019
I love this video lesson .. its very valuable to any newbies in a community to learn how to describe a problem better making it faster, more likely to get a good response.