In re: Doing homework for newbies

[dropzone]

And they are always newbies. Kids, stick around a while and you’ll see that you really don’t want our help, any more than you want help from those wiseasses in your dorm* who really don’t like you. We neither know nor dislike you, yet, but you are fresh meat, an innocent, trusting lamb walking blissful into the abattoir. Good luck with that.

• George said, “You guys are English majors. My prof wants an interpretation of ‘Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands.’”

Happy to help, asshole!

He got an F. We were, unhelpfully but thoroughly**, diametrically opposite of his prof, though she was totally wrong, too. (We went with the Virgin Mary because George was Jewish and wouldn’t know better. She went with a prostitute.) With English at college levels you get as many opinions as participants and only one is right, mine. However, my personal interpretation that it is was about Joan Baez has been countered with Dylan’s first wife and I stopped caring in '73.

** We worked harder to fuck him over than we typically did on our own homework. We could support our thesis, though we knew it was wrong. We typed it and everything. He didn’t know what hit him.

[cochrane]

Are you talking about this thread, that was closed by Chronos?

https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=859072

[dropzone]

Inspired, but no. It’s a common enough experience…

[dalej42]

Is it considered homework if they’re just asking for feedback on a work the OP has already written?

[Beckdawrek]

Is it homework if I don’t post a link and someone else does it for me?

[dropzone]

@Beckdawrek

Is it homework if I don’t post a link and someone else does it for me?

Like I said, you’d be asking for trouble, but whether it’s homework is up to the mods. But really, you been here a year and you would STILL trust us?

[kopek]

I don’t know about on the Dope but back on AOL on other boards we called them “HHH” for Hopeless Homework Heretics and we usually weren’t very nice to them. Sometimes, if they asked well and politely, we would guide them along a little but -------- mileage varied widely.

[Beckdawrek]

@dropzone

Like I said, you’d be asking for trouble, but whether it’s homework is up to the mods. But really, you been here a year and you would STILL trust us?

What’s not to trust?

[dropzone]

Me?

[Beckdawrek]

Well, now I’m worried.

[engineer_comp_geek]

@cochrane

Are you talking about this thread, that was closed by Chronos?

https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=859072

The problem with this isn’t just that it’s homework, it is an off-board project. We do allow these under some circumstances, but you need to ask permission first. None was asked in this case.

We used to take a tougher stance against homework questions, but these days we do allow them, but we won’t just give answers. Post a question, post what you’ve done so far, post where you are stuck, and we’ll help you sort it out and get you pointed in the right direction.

Post a question and just ask for an answer, basically expecting us to do all of the work for you, and that will get shut down very quickly.

This is specifically detailed in the registration agreement:

Please do not ask other members to do your homework or provide input for your article, paper, or other off-board project. We may waive this rule if you obtain prior permission from a moderator or administrator.

ETA:
It’s probably more than a little unwise to click on some random link by someone who has no posting history here, just as it is unwise to ask for help from random strangers on the internet since you never know what sort of a-hole might end up answering your questions.

[engineer_comp_geek]

I should probably also add that this is in the General Questions FAQ:

8. Don’t ask others to do your homework. If you’re a student with a homework assignment and you need help understanding a concept, you’re welcome to post a question about it here. However, do NOT ask others to do work you’re supposed to do yourself, e.g., “Here’s an equation I was assigned for homework. Please solve for X.” To put it another way, our members generally are happy to help you figure out an answer. Don’t expect them to GIVE you the answer.

As long as homework questions are asked sincerely in GQ, and the OP isn’t just asking for the answers, the responses tend to be pretty helpful, in my experience. Again, this is just the internet, so nothing is guaranteed, but most of the folks around here are helpful. GQ is usually a good resource if you are stuck.

Just don’t ask us to do your work for you.

And again, if it’s an off-board project, you must ask permission first.

[cochrane]

@engineer_comp_geek

The problem with this isn’t just that it’s homework, it is an off-board project. We do allow these under some circumstances, but you need to ask permission first. None was asked in this case.

We used to take a tougher stance against homework questions, but these days we do allow them, but we won’t just give answers. Post a question, post what you’ve done so far, post where you are stuck, and we’ll help you sort it out and get you pointed in the right direction.

Post a question and just ask for an answer, basically expecting us to do all of the work for you, and that will get shut down very quickly.

This is specifically detailed in the registration agreement:
ETA:
It’s probably more than a little unwise to click on some random link by someone who has no posting history here, just as it is unwise to ask for help from random strangers on the internet since you never know what sort of a-hole might end up answering your questions.

The link to the project is still in the OP. Shouldn’t it be removed?

[Joey_P]

@dropzone

And they are always newbies.

Hey now. I’d been here for several years when I asked you guys for homework help. In fact, this was for the last class that I was (re) taking during summer so I could graduate.
More than a decade later and that’s all just a bunch of gibberish to me now (seriously, I find my old physics and math lecture note and can barely make sense of them at this point).

[kopek]

@Beckdawrek

Well, now I’m worried.

And afraid. Very very afraid.

[aldiboronti]

It’s been half a century since I was at school but isn’t consulting the internet part of doing homework now? What’s the difference between that and checking a book?

[TriPolar]

@aldiboronti

It’s been half a century since I was at school but isn’t consulting the internet part of doing homework now? What’s the difference between that and checking a book?

Consulting the internet is much more useful than a book, both for learning or avoiding learning.

Anyway, he wasn’t asking us to do his homework, but he did need permission for the off-board project which should have been explained to him.

[kopek]

@aldiboronti

It’s been half a century since I was at school but isn’t consulting the internet part of doing homework now? What’s the difference between that and checking a book?

Consulting is one thing; some of the HHHs basically want us to write their term-paper for them. Its due tomorrow. They checked a couple sites and didn’t find something directly on-point. Luckily the Mods here (I believe) pretty much quash things like that rather quickly and the active posters report them fast enough. But it still pops up here and there around the WWW pretty often.

Although, then again ------- as boards like this are slowly fading away maybe its happening somewhere else now. That I can’t really say.

[dropzone]

@aldiboronti

It’s been half a century since I was at school but isn’t consulting the internet part of doing homework now? What’s the difference between that and checking a book?

We’re, I’m, more likely to steer you wrong?

[Leo_Bloom]

Mod squash. Austin Powers’ favorite vegetable.