Has anyone ever told you that “there’s no such thing as stupid questions”? Usually, the only reason you’ve been told this is because they want to alleviate your fear of asking a question thinking that it might be a stupid question. There are indeed stupid questions, for the sake of whomever you are asking, please think about it before you ask it or simply just google the question.
For those new to software engineering, learning how to ask the right question might be fairly difficult. Most of the time, if you end up having a question about something, the odds are, someone else has/had that same question. The first thing to do before even asking the question is to see if it has been asked before. The most general type of questions to avoid are these. In addition to this, questions that show that you have put in zero effort are ones you should refrain from asking. When it comes to software development, you must have attempted something before coming upon your question. If you really couldn’t find an answer, show that you put effort into finding a solution before you ask a question. This could be as simple as showing the code you generated that doesn’t work.
The question found here is a great example of a smart question. It is one of the top voted questions on stack overflow. The title illustrates the problem such that you could answer it without looking for more details. The user posts the relevant code, their findings, and the thought process that ultimately led them to ask the question. The question followed most of the guidelines found in How To Ask Questions The Smart Way, and because of it, makes it easy for people to respond to his question with insightful and detailed information.
The question found here is an example of a “not-so-smart” question. It took a little digging to find it, but this was a good example of what NOT to ask. The title post does not make it inherently clear the purpose of the question. Someone would have to go into the post before being able to even attempt to answer the question. The user asking the question also words his question in a seemingly condescending tone, as if they knew more than the people they were asking for help from. Although the question was answered, compared to the example of a smart question, the responses were significantly lower in quality.
When you ask smart questions, people will likely be more inclined to help. You will also be more likely to receive a response to your question that completely answers your question and provides an easy to understand solution. Asking questions, the right way, will help you understand exactly what it is you are confused by.