I understand that, and if that was the reason for closing the particular thread in question, that’s fine.
But it doesn’t change the fact that the original instructions themselves were bullshit, and should be rescinded, along with the asinine homework rule.
OK so it isn’t a moral or ethical issue about homework questions, it’s that what this board is all about is teaching people how to solve problems themselves and not just feeding them the answers?
But isn’t it acceptable for someone to post a question asking what part they need to repair a car without demonstrating that they truly are trying to understand the mechanical concepts in question? Is it not sufficient just to say “sounds like you need the fuel injector cleaned”, or should we insist that posters asking such questions prove that they have done all they can to understand and solve the problem themselves before asking for help here?
It’s possible that someone asking such a question is charging their friend 50 bucks to solve a car problem and posting here to make the job easy on themselves. If someone even said “I am charging my friend 50 bucks to fix their car and here are the symptoms, any thoughts?” we wouldn’t close the thread because they were just asking for an easy answer.
So again, why is “homework” sacrosanct among the elventy billion other random subjects that someone might ask about without doing all they can to figure it out for themselves first, and with whatever motives they may have for asking?
Could a moderator point out how this is obviously homework?
I disagree. This MB is pure troll-bait. I think this rule serves to mitigate that.
I was half-joking, but my experience is that self-policing for homework question doesn’t work that well. YMMV.
Hell, we had one guy who was a self-professed pedophile who advocated making it legal to have sex with children. And the mods had no issues with that, because “he followed the rules”. But heaven forbid someone ask for help with homework!
(Note: this isn’t necessarily about Reza, since it sounds like he’s doing this for his business. But for the homework rule in general.)
That is a very fucking high horse you’re up on there.
Get over yourself. It’s a goddamn message board. If we’re about fighting ignorance, it’s the ignorance of the members here, and Reza’s questions help him to fight his own ignorance. What he does with his new-found knowledge is none of our fucking business.
Exactly. If someone comes along and posts a racist screed we are all about giving them a voice because, after all, the best way to fight their ignorance is to engage them in debate.
If a pedophile apologist seems to be posting their sincere views and isn’t just trolling, by all means let them speak! We will shoot down their arguments soon enough, and TPTB aren’t about policing threads for content or stifling sincere views just because they are distasteful or unpopular.
Anyone is free to ask for the best recipe for whatever without being asked what they have tried to cook so far on their own. Anyone can ask “bottom line: what is the best rechargeable toothbrush on the market today?” and nobody will insist that they prove they have already researched the market thoroughly and just want some additional guidance.
But “homework” questions have their own specific rule. And none of TPTB will explain why. The rule doesn’t specify what kind of “homework”. Does it matter if it is k-12, university, or doctoral work? What about a 77 year old taking a continuing education class at their local community college? An 8 year old kid taking private guitar lessons and asking for help reading music?
Granted, the SDMB is a powerhouse of collective intellect and expertise, and we can’t just let people come take advantage of us willy nilly - with such tremendous power comes great responsibility. We mustn’t allow just anyone the benefit of our wisdom. If they have “some reason” for wanting to know, then we want to know what it is and what they intend to do with the powerful knowledge that will be bestowed upon them here.
Maybe it comes down to “just because” like the Pit language rules or any other seemingly inexplicable rules and customs here. There was some reason, in someone’s mind, 15 or 16 years ago that has no relevance to anything today but we continue the tradition just because.
Except, you know, here. The OP in the linked thread never mentioned homework in that thread. You policy in practice has little to do with homework. Your policy is that Reza is forbidden to ask any questions regarding the English language.
Has this been confirmed, or is it just assumed because that’s what he made it sound like in the “wit brain” thread? I can certainly see how what he described could sound like a cheating service … but a legitimate tutor could also check over the work of a student, and correct it where the student made mistakes, along with detailed explanations about where they went wrong. The key difference, ethically, being that a legitimate tutor doesn’t just charge the student to do the work for them, but only helps the student see where they went wrong and what the right way to do it is.
And, if I remember correctly, you’re a freaking teacher!
I dunno, that’s some pretty strong language from someone accusing another of riding a high horse. Graphite pot, grey kettle.
Besides, check out the masthead. It says fighting ignorance. That’s what we do here bub. I thank the administrators of this message board for providing this information in every forum and every thread.
Wrong thread, I think. I’m guessing ITD was referring to Anaamika’s GQ thread which was discussed in the previous thread starting with post#63
Do you get a penny for every time you bring up the pedophile thing?
Regardless, this all seems like a load of nothing, I doubt the mods care much about homework in general, more likely it simply irks them that Reza is making money of the back of their own unpaid work. Can’t say I blame them, its just human nature. If I was giving free tours through a canyon it would annoy me that some guy was charging others for the service and then just joining the back of my group, even if it changed my job not at all.
For once, I’m not going to try and figure it out. What in the world are you talking about? How in the world is that a response to what mhendo said? His entire argument is about how this board is about fighting ignorance.
And Tuba didn’t fight ignorance because 1–we didn’t prove what Reza did, and 2, THERE IS NO RULE AGAINST EVEN WHAT SHE CLAIMED.
This is the reason I wish there were actual rationalist people on the moderating staff, instead of this collaboration that they think passes for rational thought. It’s entirely possible for them all to come up with an irrational decision.
They have the rules they are supposed to enforce, including the “Don’t be a jerk rule” that gives them a lot of leeway. But there is nothing about policing what people do with the information they read. Note I said information. There is no rule against this. It’s all based on a gut feeling that something should be wrong.
And, frankly, in my opinion, it crosses a line they’ve never crossed before. There’s always been some rule that arguably be applied, even if it was “Don’t be a jerk.” But that is no longer the case.
The moderators are spreading ignorance, pulling an Animal-Farm-esque alteration. There’s fresh white paint saying “We won’t do your homework for you, and neither will you, even outside the board.”
First they came for Peter Morris, but I didn’t speak up because I didn’t hate James Randi.
Then they came for Diamonds02, but I didn’t speak up because I didn’t post stupid threads every day.
Then they came for Reza, but I didn’t speak up because I didn’t sell homework help and ask for it on the boards.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak up.
We have Reza’s own statement to prove what he did.
No rule? How about Don’t be a jerk. In my opinion, assisting someone to cheat on their homework is being a jerk.
How about fighting ignorance? When someone is taking a course of study, the purpose is to learn some new stuff. We can fight their ignorance by explaining any points in the study material they don’t understand. WE can’t fight their ignorance by doing the work for them. They won’t learn anything that way.
Cite? In the thread currently under discussion Reza posted once.
His commentsin the previous thread admit what he’s doing.
“I charged them reasonably to do their assignment.”
One may reasonably suppose he’s still doing the same.
Objection. Prior bad acts having nothing to do with the current thread in question and are being raised to improperly demonstrate propensity or disposition.
You’re getting close to receiving sanctions here.
Really? Cesario?
The staff is revisiting the homework rule and will be posting a clarification of what that involves soon. In the meantime, since this has turned into a series of insults (clothahump, mhendo) and non sequiturs, I’m going to close it.
twickster, for the SDMB