I think that the SDMB should have a Homework Forum after after seeing how Dopers jumped in to help someone with a homework problem.
Are you sure that thread contributed to “fighting ignorance”?
Well, somebody learned not to ask homework questions.
The OP of that thread said he hadn’t had government in over two years. It was about time somebody governed him.
Personally I’ve never seen the sense of the no homework questions rule. If people are seeking information, why should we care if they want it for general enlightenment or to do a school assignment or to win a bar bet? Some might argue that the purpose of a homework assignment is for the student to learn things for themselves. But how is learning from this message board worse than learning from some other online source or learning from a book?
I can’t tell if a homework forum is the worst suggestion ever, or the worst suggestion ever.
That said, I also don’t see a problem with answering homework requests if we feel up to it. I often learn a lot reading that sort of thread.
We put that rule in place because kids (and sometimes their parents!) would come to the site and ask us for the answers to tests or to write term papers for them.
I am not making this up.
Our philosophy here at the Dope has always been that it’s not just about the answers, it’s about learning how to learn … how to look things up, how to read for comprehension, how to write as appropriate.
And to that end we’ve never said you couldn’t help people get to that place but that you shouldn’t carry them there. And that’s the difference.
Hence “no homework help.” Which is not quite accurate. Help them GET there but don’t answer the questions for them. Don’t write the paper for them. Don’t do their research for them. Steer them to the right place? Absolutely.
We’re big on insisting on cites, here on SDMB we are. It’s very academic.
So when kiddo is writing up his thesis and cites SDMB among his sources, how would that be written up in the references? Is there a standard way to write citations from a message board?
I kind of like how it is now. If someone asks, “What’s 2+2?” they’re not likely to get a reply of “4”, but either a bunch of joking replies - which teaches them they shouldn’t rely on any one source without verifying the answers elsewhere, and we get to have fun - OR they’re going to get some leading questions, clues and hints for how to solve the problem themselves, which is actual learning.
Let’s face it, there are plenty of places online where they’ll get “4” and not learn a gorram thing, including out and out homework help websites. I like the way we do it better. Keeps 'em on their toes.
Sure is. Here’s the APA format:
: Hey, if anyone wants to help that kid, he can. The thread hasn’t been closed.
Meanwhile, some of us had a little fun. Maybe the kid learned a lesson about expecting others to do his work for him. Win-win.
People could come here and ask to have somebody cosign a car loan too but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.
I think cases where somebody is going to post something like “I need a five thousand word essay on the evolving role of the executive power in American politics. Could somebody write one for me and post it here?” and get their request fulfilled will be vanishingly rare. Students who expect to be handed a finished product like that will have to go to some other site and pay for the work.
What they would be more likely to get here is suggestions and information (the kind of thing that’s typically posted here) that they could then use to write their own paper.
Has anyone ever requested that posters here write a 5,000 word essay for them?
Can Dopers write me a 5000 word essay on “The Folly of Asking Silly Questions of a Bunch of Smartasses?”
Yes.
Now ask me if we will. 
Not that I know of. But TubaDiva suggested it could start happening if we changed the rules.
Some of our existing threads probably qualify.
No. She said that parents came here and asked for “the answers to tests or to write term papers for them.”.
Even if you think every term paper must be 5,000 words, note the “or”.
The OP of that thread was looking for an answer to an essay question, not help with a 5,000 word paper. What you gave him could very well be copied verbatim and considered a passable answer.
That’s not giving “suggestions and information” to assist in writing his own.