# Oops! Did I Break A Rule? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 13, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-did-i-break-a-rule/678697 "2014-01-13T19:59:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-did-i-break-a-rule/678697/1 "2014-01-13T19:59:51Z")
I just noticed a thread in IMHO which was closed because it violated a rule against asking for help in doing a research project. “Please do not ask other members to do your homework or provide input for your article, paper, or other off-board project.” My oops: several times, in CS, I’ve asked for opinions regarding story-writing ideas, most recently about how much scientific accuracy I can skimp in a fantasy story. Is asking for aesthetic advice for a proposed story forbidden under this rule? Or is abstract advice okay, and the ban is against soliciting hard or amassable data (e.g., asking people to post their average income.) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-did-i-break-a-rule/678697/2 "2014-01-13T20:05:58Z")
Well, ISTM we see Dopers rather often posting (usually in IMHO) asking for input of one sort or another for their latest blockbuster they are writing, generally without any complaints or mods running interference. Do we still have mods around here? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-did-i-break-a-rule/678697/3 "2014-01-13T20:08:17Z")
Yes, creative projects are different from homework. You didn’t do anything wrong. > [@Senegoid](#): > > Do we still have mods around here? You rang? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-did-i-break-a-rule/678697/4 "2014-01-13T22:17:15Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Yes, creative projects are different from homework. You didn’t do anything wrong. . . . Cool! Thanks! 'Cause, one thing for sure, this is a really good place to get opinions! The “hive mind” here is a masterpiece of distributed computing architecture! It always astonishes me how quickly someone will identify an old movie, or book, or painting, or even a piece of music, from only a sketchy description. Collectively, “Unamit Ahazredit.” ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-did-i-break-a-rule/678697/5 "2014-01-13T23:10:22Z")
We don’t have an outright ban on homework either. I’ve never gotten in trouble for saying “look, this is homework and I’ve made a good faith effort to solve this problem. Here are the steps I’ve taken, can somebody explain what I’m doing wrong?” (I also usually remix the actual numbers or wording of the problem so it won’t show up on search engines for people searching for how to solve it.) It’s mostly just for people who ask “can somebody solve x^2 + 19x - 5 = 0 for me? thx!” As long as you show that you’re a competent person who can think for themselves and do your own work prior to asking for help, you’re fine from what I’ve observed of the moderation around here. I’m sure volume helps too, I don’t do it too often, I’d probably get in trouble if I did it all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-did-i-break-a-rule/678697/6 "2014-01-14T00:51:27Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > . . . I’m sure volume helps too, I don’t do it too often, I’d probably get in trouble if I did it all the time. Very true…and true of a lot of things. If I popped up too often with, “Help me identify this book I read when I was a kid,” people here would get tired of that, too. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-did-i-break-a-rule/678697/7 "2014-01-14T15:53:08Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > It’s mostly just for people who ask can somebody solve x^2 + 19x - 5 = 0 for me? thx! x = {0.259610648, -19.259610648} 🙂 (I was really surprised to find [a website that solved it for me AND explained how to do the algebra!](http://www.algebra.com)) ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-did-i-break-a-rule/678697/8 "2014-01-14T16:02:52Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > x = {0.259610648, -19.259610648} 🙂 > (I was really surprised to find [a website that solved it for me AND explained how to do the algebra!](http://www.algebra.com)) But is there a “[letmealgebradotcomthatforyou.com](http://letmealgebradotcomthatforyou.com)” so we can snarkily link to it? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-did-i-break-a-rule/678697/9 "2014-01-14T17:33:14Z")
Homework threads should be allowed for entertainment value. [Look what can happen](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=92133). ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-did-i-break-a-rule/678697/10 "2014-01-14T19:32:06Z")
You know to this day I have never read that novel. What’s it about? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-did-i-break-a-rule/678697/11 "2014-01-15T00:49:55Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > You know to this day I have never read that novel. > > What’s it about? A tiger and a pirate find comfort via heartwarming – even moving – attempts to attend a Ke$ha concert. The most famous part of the book involves using a time travelling Ada Lovelace and Alan Turing to hack into the concert hall’s security system. The book was later adapted into the movie _Casabalanca_, but I hear the book’s plot didn’t survive very well in the screenplay adaptation (ain’t that always the way). ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oops-did-i-break-a-rule/678697/12 "2014-01-15T02:34:41Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > A tiger and a pirate find comfort via heartwarming – even moving – attempts to attend a Ke$ha concert. The most famous part of the book involves using a time travelling Ada Lovelace and Alan Turing to hack into the concert hall’s security system. The book was later adapted into the movie _Casabalanca_, but I hear the book’s plot didn’t survive very well in the screenplay adaptation (ain’t that always the way). Huh. That’s why I don’t hang out in Cafe Society much.