I have a real hard time trying to help certain people. I had a recent encounter with a user who just kept posting the same types of problems I had helped him/her with. I clearly asked the person do they understand and they answered, "yes". So if you understand I take it that you could show me how to do the next problem. However, as soon as I asked the user to do the problem the user closed the thread. Then, I seen the user open up a new thread with the same problem. I feel as though those users are abusing OpenStudy. I felt like he wanted me to do his homework.

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anonymous · Answer

http://images.wikia.com/glee/images/5/54/Blaine_this.gif

kainui · Answer

Stop giving people the answers, that's what I do. I just tell them how to get there and make them try and show me. Then I'll either say, "yes" or "no, that's not quite right and this is why." Then I'll ask a question that will help them figure out what they need to be looking at. 

Sure, it takes longer but I mean, anybody can just give an answer. Actually showing someone that they have the logic and skills to tackle it on their own with a little guidance is much more helpful to a person. 

If they don't respond well to this kind of help, then they don't really care to learn and aren't worth your time. Link them to www.wolframalpha.com

anonymous · Answer

Well said @Kainui ! :-)

anonymous · Answer

I agree that it sucks that people "abuse" the system to get the answers they need. For example, I often notice people can EASILY just search the answer...and I do it for them, but I let them know that they should just use the search engine.
It is a little ridiculous sometimes, but what do you expect? Not everyone understands they need to actually learn the concepts of what they are "trying" to learn. They want the quick fix.
We just need to be a bit more blunt when giving our answers. I still think that the community needs to enforce standards. For example, in a previous post I suggested community members be promoted to a level less than the powers of a moderator, but still have an important role in the community. This would be a great example, to deal with the users that continually post questions and try to get answers despite not caring to know the concepts.

kainui · Answer

@time_to_learn I suggest you link them to this site: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Are+dolphins+mammals%3F

anonymous · Answer

:D @ kainui