Question

Direct answers should be prohibited.

Answer 1

Inserst sarcastic comment @badreferences ...

Answer 2

They are against the terms of service, I believe. Or, if they aren't, there was at least moderator and user support for this a while back.

Answer 3

@Dyiliq HA! No sarcastic comments from me!

Answer 4

lmao

Answer 5

Let me rephrase.... STRICTLY prohibited. I'm tempted to just outright report them every time I see them. They make my blood boil a little bit.

Answer 6

So, in short:

"I want an intelligent version of YouTube, with the same amount of video-sharing freedom."

"lol u high?"

Answer 7

"Yes, but thats not the point."

I think youtube IS intelligent.......and addictive.

Answer 8

Parts of YouTube, maybe. KhanAcademy, Discovery, TEDx, MIT-OCW, etc.

But suddenly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsUYxwIEerI

Answer 9

Please report them whenever you see them.

Answer 10

Answer-only posts are against the code of conduct, and moderators will warn/act accordingly.

Answer 11

@shadowfiend I would be more willing to report such posts if there were no consequences for false reporting, or a large margin of error for doing so.

As a wise man once said ( @GT ), "It is not my place to judge." Maybe the asker came looking only for numerical corroboration of his/her calculations? Many times, in the questions I ask, many steps are not elucidated in the problem solving process, so it ends up being a vague outline of the solution process, and an answer.

Or those "share a question" posts where the user is merely sharing a question to which he already has a solution/answer.

Answer 12

Hey @Dyiliq & @badreferences - it's an important point you've brought up, and obviously one that is difficult to accurately gauge.

First of all, there will *always* be exceptions to the 'no direct answer' situation. OpenStudy has made a firm stance on a 'no answer only' policy via our Code of Conduct (updated a few months ago) and our blog ( http://blog.openstudy.com/2012/03/13/mission-driven-learning-for-all/ ). OpenStudy's stance is firmly towards learning - NOT simply giving an answer.

Now, secondly - as to the exceptions. There are definitely cases where giving an answer is an essential part of the learning experience. In many cases, questions are asked where the answer is already known, however the method is unclear or not understood. Additionally, cases where people need to check their work to make sure their methodology is sound.

As @badreferences mentions, correctly I might add, this is a completely subjective judgement, made on a case by case basis. This is something we are aware of, and have already taken steps to address. For instance, many of the changes you have seen in the rewards system (all incorporated into SmartScore) are with the intention of removing the incentive for people to simply provide an answer to those looking for simply that - an answer. Because if OpenStudy provides these people with what they need, they will continue to come back. NOW, OpenStudy rewards users far more for in-depth interactions - those 'peer-to-peer learning experiences' that are the ultimate goal of OpenStudy. When an straight answer receives the same reward as an hour interaction (our old system), we, as OpenStudy, are not creating the environment we want and the one we have always strived for.

In terms of addressing this problem from the user side - I do ask that you Report Abuse. While I agree with BadRef's point about 'who am I to judge' - I can assure you that we as moderators take each case into consideration on its own merits. In almost all cases, it is the history and pattern of the asker that determines our next action. We typically communicate to the asker (and the answerer) about how 'answer-only' is NOT what OpenStudy is for, and then take no further action. It is when behavior like this is repeated that we actually take firm action; and even then a warning is usually the first response.

So, I believe I've bored both of you to death with my long response, but I mean what I said at the beginning - this is an EXTREMELY important point to bring up, and one we always need to keep in mind. OpenStudy is a community for learning, so what should we do to ensure that? And what must each user do? These are the most important questions (at least in my opinion) that we must ask.

Cheers both of you - I *love* talking about this stuff, it's essential to OpenStudy's present and future. Monologue complete ;)

Answer 13

@badreferences If verification of an answer is the purpose of the Q, then the user should let others know either in the Q, or in the very first A. Sometimes I see that people DO let others know, but other times I have seen them sit quietly and watch as others go to and fro trying to decide (or debate) over what the A is. They just relax and contribute nil. This sort of thing should be prohibited, and then strongly discouraged verbally to offenders before final reprimand. Along with answer slaps in the first response (direct answering, which I will now call instant answer--or "inswer"). I thought that I had mentioned that helping to arrive at the answer beforehand is tolerable...Even so, we should at least let the steps bubble around in their head for a while first....right? Let them ask more? And THEN give the answer and go through the steps one more time?


@cshalvey I agree with your essay in its entirety.

Not boring at all, I'm 100% into this website, and assisting 100% in pushing it to it's full potential, as long as you're supporting the study of music. In fact, I have been spending the last couple hours dissecting OpenStudy's T&C and CoC, just so that I can be as helpful as possible.

But I'm afraid it has opened up more idea-boxes in my mind. Please stand-by while I compose a cavernous yet sonorous retort....

Answer 14

We already - in the US at least - have a system of education that is mandated by law (forced education). I see no point in "forcing" learning on an open system like this one. If people come here for mere answers.....the community and users have a choice - answer or ignore. Policing, punishing, berating, and other such approaches are unproductive in my mind.

There is a separate question to ask. Can the system itself be engineered in such a way to encourage desire to truly learn. Yes, that is the real big question.

Answer 15

I think you're right...GT.

I also think that our 'debate' should become more of a sonar session for good ideas. There will always be a differing opinion on this matter, and none of us seem to be able to state something about the subject while making a perfect distinction between an acceptable use of an answer to help someone learn how to solve their problem, and a competitive race to see who can come up with the answer first. It appears that, ultimately, the moderators will be the ones who decide if the answer is 'Instant' or 'helpful', and they need users help to keep an eye out for possible candidates of the former.

As such, we should be discussing the difference between legitimate helping hands, and competitions for Medals, or score, or ego or whatever satisfaction people get out of doing others' homework for them.


So I'm going to take the initiative and start a new thread for that, since my wording at the top of this one was not as distinct, and now that I look back at it, it appears to be rather opinionated.

@cshalvey I am really sorry to put you on standby like that, I got caught up in a lot of other stuff all at once. Your description was flawless and it turns out that I have nothing to retort, other than 'this is becoming a tennis match'.