Plea to Authors of Articles - Article Writing Discussion Boards

A while ago when contemplating different paths to take in which articles could be presented I stumbled across this thought:

How would one go about giving authors the opportunity to create differenct views of their articles? One such option would be to enable the reader to have more than one set of code sammple if he/she so chooses (and if the author cares to provide them of course;)).
I'm pretty sure that this would most probably require a wholly different approach from the current one in how articles are entered and maintained, but I just thought that I share this idea with you.

Cheers!

Manfred R. Bihy wrote:
How would one go about giving authors the opportunity to create differenct views of their articles? One such option would be to enable the reader to have more than one set of code sammple if he/she so chooses

You mean like this? Smile | :)

[Managing Your JavaScript Library in ASP.NET]

I remember 5'ing that post...lol Big Grin | :-D

Now we just need Chris & Co to implement it. Until then, I'll find some hacky way to get the VB.NET in the article. Smile | :)

[Managing Your JavaScript Library in ASP.NET]

Why programmers are so poorly valued in their work, do a lot of code but the end result the client does not care only see the mistakes and has no idea of all that is behind it

Are you planning to write an article on it? If not, then this topic would probably be better suited to the Lounge.

Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads

My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier - my favourite utility

As Pete says, there are more appropriate forums for this, since it appears you want to have a philosophical discussion.

OTOH, if you're warming up to do an article, then it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on how the reputation of the construction industry (for example) compares to that of the software industry, or what a house would be like if built by software engineers.

But please don't respond here; put it into an article.

Thumbs Up | :thumbsup:

Best wishes,
Hans

[Hans Dietrich Software]

Hi. Im fairly new to certain aspects of using codebehind to create things like gridviews etc. So, like all 'beginners' I tour the internet looking for articles to improve my knowledge. I thank all the authors for taking the time to write the articles but I have a plea, or rather several pleas.

1. Please test your examples before publishing, understanding that 'newbies' will often be trying to follow along. I have come across so many examples where code is reproduced incorrectly, and as a beginner that causes immense problems because basically I don't know what is wrong! So I spend a lot of time trying to work it out. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't.

2. If certain steps have to be taken prior to using an example, say for instance, setting up datasets?, then I think that should be mentioned at the top of the article, with maybe a link to an article which explains that process. TEst your examples to see if they do work 'out of the box' and if not please explain what is needed to make then work. What is the point of providing examples if thay don't work. I have downloaded so many 'get the source code' and set up so many 'example's only to find that they fail this week alone it is unbelieveable, last week I wasted a complete working week and acheived very little.

I have downloaded this week from various forums etc, examples which should work , in theory, out of the box? I have to say that out of 40 examples only 2 actualy did work out of the box, while 15 were totally unuseable despite hours spent trying, and also reading other articles to try to help find why 'this' example doesn't work. Yes I have posted questions direct to the authors of the articles but most just don't bother responding.

An incomplete or non-working example when posted is in many ways useless, so I would rather such articles were removed so that articles 'returned' from searches are good articles.

I wasted approximately last week alone 48 hours trying to get examples to work; this week looks to be on par with that. This grip covers most forums, including things like jQuery c#, vb, slq matters and so on, it is not just a Code Project problem, but I must say that many of my 'Asp' examples have come from yours.

To my mind, the owners of these sites do themselves no favours by allowing authors to publish articles which do not 'provide' what they say they do. In the longer term that must detract from your reputation. Now that when I see an example returned from a search that shows your site as the provider I now skip them in favour of others that just might work.

Thank you for your time.

I think you're exaggerating a bit or have been a bit unlucky with the articles you've found.
Most articles that allow you to download the source do compile.
Most compile errors occur because the target framework has been changed and it needs a small fix.

Code mentioned in certain articles tend to be a bit confusing for the beginners.
When an article mentions the TcpClient class, beginners don't know they need to add 'Using System.Net' at the top, so you've got a point there.
It's also not always mentioned when you have to add a dll reference to a project though a quick google on it usually reveals the secret.

Under No circumstances am I exaggerating. Right now I am struggling with an example which is throwing error after error after error. I've been at is since 6.30 am today and it is now 11.29. As of 3 minutes ago, I decided to give and search again! 5 Hours wasted.

If you regualrly tour the web and use provided examples as I do as a learning aid you will soon see exactly what I mean. If you don't then do not waste my time, or anybody elses, by answering a point for which you have no knowledge.

Doing so is an example of the sympton I am trying to explain.

Thank you for your response

RayH1066 wrote:
if you don't then do not waste my tikme mby answering a point for which you have no knowledge.

nbgangsta's answer was perfectly reasonable; I see no reason for you to be abusive to someone who is trying to offer his view on your complaint.

The best things in life are not things.

Hi, I am not being abusive, I am explaining clearly, yes maybe stringly, that articles if they claim to be 'out of the box examples' then that is what they should be!. If a 'iuser' has to google etc then that is not a complete example. If the user has to use an 'import' / System using then that should be stated. BUT, if the code is a complete example including .aspx.cs pages then all that should be there.

I am sorry that you feel I am being abusive that was not my intention, but the fact remains, your argument actually agrees with me but at the same time you want to disagree, so you got a strong reply. If details are missing from an article then that article is in theory useless, isn't it?

Thanks

RayH1066 wrote:
If details are missing from an article then that article is in theory useless, isn't it?

True, but the only way to find out is to try it; this is an open forum where anyone can post articles, tips, tricks, blogs etc. As I said in my other response it is impossible to check everything that is posted, we just have to rely on the authors doing it properly. If you have problems with either the content or the code then tell the author; posting a general whine in this forum is unlikely to be seen by the people you are having a problem with.

The best things in life are not things.

It is a point, a valid point and not a whine! That could be considered insulting because it shows that you are unable to emphasize with 'newbies' and that is sad. I am looking to see if 'a general plea' might just raise ideas of what is expected.

I do agree with you over the number of entries etc, I understand totally the difficulties the masters of this site must face, but they designed the site and they manage the ideals of the site and the objectives of the site. Maybe from time to time these values need revising? It is the users that kick thoses revisions off. If we just accept that rubbish will be posted for all to see then that is a losers attitude, where as a possitive guide to authors - ,maybe an email reminding them of the problems associated with untested solutions etc, might that make them think before that hit the 'post' button?

I am raising the issue because it needs raising here as well as elsewhere.

Thank you

RayH1066 wrote:
It is a point, a valid point and not a whine! That could be considered insulting because it shows that you are unable to emphasize with 'newbies'

Well there you go, whining again; you don't like my answer so you accuse me of insulting you. I think, as a newbie, you need to take a good look at your attitude.

I think you are really failing to understand how this site works. This is an open site which is largely policed by the thousands of members who visit every day. If something is wrong with the structure or availability of the site, then we report it to the site owners who do their best (and generally succeed very well) to fix it. If there is something wrong with the content that is submitted by the membership then all we can do is report it back to the person who posted and ask them to correct it. But with the amount of questions and answers, articles, blogs, tips & tricks that get posted every day, it is an impossible task to check and validate everything. There are guidelines for new members to explain how to post questions and answers, how to write an article etc, but again if people do not bother to read the guidelines there is not a lot that can be done.

It is far better to have an open site with lots of good and well presented information and accept that the odd bad article gets published, than to start imposing rules that would be difficult to enforce and drive away some of the people that actually make useful contributions to the site.

As you can see, not many people read this forum so I am going to post a link to this in the Lounge to see what some other CPians feel about the points you raised.

The best things in life are not things.

Actually, I've had quiet a few replies considering how long this has been posted.

THe points I am raising - should you care to read them - are exteremly valid. While you might find then distasteful, as you so obviously do, it does not remove the validity, in fact your underlying attitude (mine is very open and fair minded and evenly levelled and I do understand all the problems wyhicfh can and do beset forums - see some of my answers) shows to me that no matter what the problem is you would defend it rather t han saying, hey, maybe there is a point here?

There was once a train company in the dear old USA that was going bust. The Directors could not see how to halt the decline in rail users and were wringing their hands in desperation. Along came a clever chap who in stead of defending the general state of all the rail links in the USA he looked at the companies articles and saw that they had declared themselves to be a transport company. To his mind that included, space craft, buses, cars, bikes, motorcyles, skateboards etc. The company , went, oh, oh, oh, and changed lol and hehold a bit of creative thinking and willingness to asccept that there is an laternaitive view / point/ etc and there fortunes turned good.

Closed minds are destructive.

Good day to you

RayH1066 wrote:
THe points I am raising - should you care to read them - are exteremly valid. While you might find then distasteful, as you so obviously do, it does not remove the validity, in fact your underlying attitude (mine is very open and fair minded and evenly levelled and I do understand all the problems wyhicfh can and do beset forums - see some of my answers) shows to me that no matter what the problem is you would defend it rather t han saying, hey, maybe there is a point here?

There you go again, "I can't argue with the guy so I'll insult him".

Like I said before, you really don't understand how this site works.

The best things in life are not things.

Hi
Im not insulting you.

I am questioning a blithe acceptance of sloppyness. I do understand how the site works. I do understand that most, if not all of the contributions are voluntary and of course I thank very much the diligently produced articles. Nether-the-less if St Johns Ambulance People tied a bandage around a leg to fix a broken arm then we would have the right to raise a point and to comment on it without being told, hey, this brigade is voluntary therefore stop moaning.

That is what I am arguing about, and I will always argue against intraction.

Thanks for your reply

RayH1066 wrote:
Nether-the-less if St Johns Ambulance People tied a bandage around a leg to fix
a broken arm then we would have the right to raise a point and to comment on it
without being told, hey, this brigade is voluntary therefore stop moaning.

First Lifeboats now St. Johns Ambulance.

You're in the wrong place my friend. You need the Forum for developers where every contributer is trained at great expense and provided with the best tools and equipment specifically to help sort out your programming issues. A forum where people work specific shifts so that whenever you have a programming emergency there's someone on call ready and able to help you.

CodeProject is a community, it is not an emergency service that trains it's contributors to dig you out of a hole every time you find you can't get some line of code to work.

I'll say again what I've said already, if you have a problem with the standards on CodeProject, then raise those standards by actually Posting an article, or answering the questions that people post. Provide some succint answers that sort out peoples troubles using code that they are guaranteed to understand.

If you can't do that then stop demanding that others do it for you.

-Richard

Hit any user to continue.

If only I could vote 10.

Why is common sense not common?
Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level where they are an expert.
Sometimes it takes a lot of work to be lazy
Individuality is fine, as long as we do it together - F. Burns

Yes. Because you personally dont seem to accept that I have a point. If you care to read most of the replies you will that they do indeed recognise that problems can occur. You on the otherhand dont seem to like the fact that I have raised this point, why I dont know, and neither do you want me to have a view.

You seem bombastic in nature, and tunnelled vision so by use of illustrations I am trying to paint a simple picture so that you can see what many of the others appear to see. They don't necessaily think it is an issue but they at least see my point. You on the other hand are walking around in blinkers and are trying to encourage me to so so to.

As too using this forum to find answers to problems I might be having? Are you saying this isn't for seeking solutions to problems?

Emmm... Now you really have me worried? Is it me in the wrong place or you?

Good luck.

I suggest you dont read this thread if it offends you so much.

RayH1066 wrote:
Im not insulting you.

You question whether I have read your comments, I quote "should you care to read them", and accuse me of having a closed mind. I don't know where you come from but most countries I have lived in would consider that insulting.

RayH1066 wrote:
I am questioning a blithe acceptance of sloppyness.

I don't accept it any more than you do, and challenge it when I see it. My comment, had you cared to read it was merely pointing out that with a self regulated site like The CodeProject, it is impossible to check every article and every code download to ensure that it will work out of the box for every one of the 7,000,000 plus members. Those of us with sufficient reputation points spend quite a bit of our time doing peer reviews of articles and plenty of them get rejected before they can be published. But we cannot guarantee to catch every one and we certainly don't have time to download, build and test every contribution. If you go and look at the articles that have been published you will see plenty that got past the first hurdle but receive some fairly strong criticism if the membership does not feel the standard is high enough, or if the content is full of bugs.

The best things in life are not things.

Thank you for your response.

I was pleased to see your detailed reply. Thank you for that. My point then is all the more valid isn't it. If you and others have to spend so much time validating articles etc then a plea to the authors is just what is needed. Thank you for agreeing with me.

As a user, I appreciate any efforts made to receive sound information, and I repeat, based on your answer, I am right to ask authors to take a little care. Of course I appreciate their efforts, but I appreciate their efforts even more when the article 'works', and yes, I am one of those people who do make donations to sites which receive their funding that way! I do appreciate help, but I also reserve the right to make observations when it doesn't appear to work.

Blaming the authors for their errors and stating that Code Projects cannot 'control the content posted' is understood but nether-the-less because the items (I'm refering to old, maybe out of date examples etc) are posted on the site it does actually make it the responsibility of whomsoever is in overall control of the site to accept a form of responsibility?

I appreciate knowledgeable answers, your last was more informative and contains good points. Thank you

I have tried to refrain from this but I can't stand it.

RayH1066 wrote:
mine is very open and fair minded and evenly levelled and I do understand all the problems wyhicfh can and do beset forums - see some of my answers

No as a matter of fact it is not. None of your posts allow for the possibility that your attitude is part of the problem. Most of us are well aware of the issues that you raised but you refuse to understand how things work in the real world. You do not for a minute allow for the possibility that the author that wrote some offending article does not have that particular email address and is not getting the notifications on his article, that maybe they have a real job, they are not interested in programming anymore and just don't want to take the time to get back into it. There are all kinds of reasons that authors are not responding to you but, according to you, they should be monitoring the internet 24/7 in case someone had a question?

RayH1066 wrote:
maybe there is a point here

I have not yet found a reply to anything you said that indicated that you do not have a point. What I have seen is people making futile attempts to explain to you how this and other site work. What I have not seen is anything from you proposing a solution to whatever it is that you are looking for. Your wanting to make authors conform to some standard is all well and good but how are you going to enforce that? There are many, many, many people out there that throw articles together just so they can brag that they wrote an article. What should we do with them? Should we make everyone have an internet posting license? What you are apparently hoping for is some revolution of righteous indignation that people that post articles on the internet are not policed and that everyone will drop everything that they are doing to fix the internet. The people that run this site are doing the best that they can. Nowhere did I see you volunteering to correct all of the mistakes that you have found as an unpaid tester, editor, proofreader.

Are there problem with articles? Yes. Are the authors human? Yes. Will there be mistakes? Yes. What exactly you have us do? You are mistakenly expecting non-professional authors to write articles as if they know exactly what you are looking for and write it such that you can understand it. I have a real job that pays me real money. If I am going to spend my time policing articles then I can't do my real job. How will I pay my bills then?

RayH1066 wrote:
There was once a train company in the dear old USA that was going bust. The Directors could not see how to halt the decline in rail users and were wringing their hands in desperation. Along came a clever chap who in stead of defending the general state of all the rail links in the USA he looked at the companies articles and saw that they had declared themselves to be a transport company. To his mind that included, space craft, buses, cars, bikes, motorcyles, skateboards etc. The company , went, oh, oh, oh, and changed lol and hehold a bit of creative thinking and willingness to accept that there is an laternaitive view / point/ etc and there fortunes turned good.

What exactly does that have to do with anything?

RayH1066 wrote:
Closed minds are destructive.

Yes they are. Try opening yours to the possibility that others are not as apparently perfect as you are.

RayH1066 wrote:
Good day to you

Thank you! And a good day to you too!

Why is common sense not common?
Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level where they are an expert.
Sometimes it takes a lot of work to be lazy
Individuality is fine, as long as we do it together - F. Burns

THank you. At last we are looking at the situation and not just reacting to a point you sisnt like. Thank you for your response.

I make you this promise. When one day I am able to valid other peoples work I will gladly volunteer my time to this site! At the moement I darent do that because my knowledge is too limited to be off use, so trying to tear me off astrip because I havent done that shows that you havent understood the situation? I did try to help someone who had a problem the other week which I could sort of answer but my experience of answering such things was not sufficient enough to convince the chap that I had offered a solution, so, no, at this time I must for the salke of your users decline.

If you have read all the replies you will see that actually a number directly or indirectly have agreed with me. You will also see that I do understand the workings of the site, A couple of comments even put forward a possible 'remedy'. Interesting.

Thank you