bad questions...

And spoon-feeding them helps them . . . how, exactly?

I don't think the guy in question was that great of a student.

He waited till the last second to work on a project, that's on him. He's getting free advice on a a free forum. Take it how you get it. Knowledge is currency, if someone is willing to give it to you for free take it graciously.

Bullying behaviours are invariably driven by narcissim and inadequacy.

Or just taking the piss.

I mean, really, can you defend not shitting all over this zero-f**ks given poster?

https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=511108.0

I think AWOL has it right. Why should we spend our time asking questions TO HELP THEM while they offer less than.

Nope. Dude probably won't even come back to check to see if there was a response. His thought was like a fart- short, foul, and fading in the wind.

If you want to change his diapers, have at it, but i'm good.

Well the one in question wasn't some doe eyed newbie that I bullied. He was a flat out cheat who I fooled into getting himself caught. I don't feel the least bit bad about it either. If he was here trying to learn I would have helped him.

Not just a cheat. Someone who is willing to, literally, pay money for a grade.

I added this a few days ago...
Giving the answer to an obvious homework problem/test question does a disservice to the students that actually try; the ones who respect themselves and take their education seriously. In fact those students may get a lower grade than the loser begging for answers because they don't get the benefit of an experts knowledge. Also, because the serious student may struggle for a longer period of time figuring out problems, they have less time for other classes so they have to work harder.
IMO the losers should be allowed to fail. I sure would give a -1 for giving the idiot the answer and another for hurting the student that tries.

It is important to keep in mind that things that are easy and obvious for an "expert" can be mind-bogglingly difficult for a newbie - even for an otherwise intelligent newbie.

It is also important to keep in mind that many people (men especially) find it very difficult to ask questions as they think it displays their ignorance. That makes asking questions in a "room" full of experts even more frightening. So it may be a difficult decision for a newbie to launch him (or her) self here with a question that they probably think is trivial to the experts.

In that situation it is important for the "expert" to respond in a helpful manner and not in any way to belittle the questioner - no matter how stupid the initial question may seem.

I do, however, think it is reasonable to expect that anyone who has taken the trouble to sign up to the Forum to ask a question will have done a considerable amount of Googling to find the answer before posting the question. But not doing that does not entitle the experts to belittle the questioner.

If, after a number of Forum answers and follow-up questions it is clear that the newbie is not making any effort then the situation changes.

However none of this is intended to facilitate students who try to cheat by getting an expert to do assignments which they then claim as their own. The internet must be a nightmare for teachers trying to be fair to everyone.

...R

I can honestly say, i either didn't realize (or didn't remember) the guy wanted to pay for somebody to do his homework for him.

Not only did he offer to pay me, but he started PMing me over and over to try to convince me to take the money.

AWOL:
And spoon-feeding them helps them . . . how, exactly?

You know what a false dichotomy is?

It is not a binary choice. You do not have to spoon feed anyone. You might help by saying nothing. You might help by stating your objection, plainly and honestly. These are negative consequences directly attributable to the behaviour you disagree with - They are proportionate punishments.

Qdeathstar:
I don't think the guy in question was that great of a student.

He waited till the last second to work on a project, that's on him.

You are entitled to your opinion but the fact is, we have little clue to the context the question is asked in. Whatever the faults of the student, it is not a great human being who jumps to the worse possible conclusion. How about applying a little critical thinking. There are some redeeming features, if you care to look for them. He was at the least, honest regarding his intention. He answered the faux questions in good faith. He was diligent enough to worry about failing his assignment. He was (eventually) prepared to ask for help.

...And no, the fact you might provide assistance for free does not entitle you to abuse anyone....And no, you should not expect virtual strangers to accept being insulted in public graciously. I doubt you would try it in real life, due to the significant risk of getting punched.

Qdeathstar:
Or just taking the piss.

Banter is what happens between consenting peers. Bullying is what happens when a supplicant is picked on by one or more antagonists. Trolling is very similar to the ring that forms around a playground brawl, when the popular kids find some BS reason to disapprove. The punishment is disproportionate, the fight is never on equal terms and only one side laughs about it.

Qdeathstar:
I mean, really, can you defend not shitting all over this zero-f**ks given poster?

You think maybe English is not Komal's native language?

Qdeathstar:
Nope. Dude probably won't even come back to check to see if there was a response.

In view of the toxic welcome he would be wise not to come back. You need to wonder how many 'innocent' participants will not come back or stop contributing because of it? The pattern has been around since Usenet. Trolls appropriate the space and scare people off, until what is left is an echo chamber.

Delta_G:
He was a flat out cheat who I fooled into getting himself caught. If he was here trying to learn I would have helped him.

Yes, you cheated him into submission(!) Brilliant.

The victim blaming is tragically predictable.

You bring up a lot of points that make me think you are defending this cheat without having actually looked at the thread. I know you didn't see the nature of the PMs he sent me. But I don't think you read the thread at all. Now that the OP changed the first post I don't know that you can possibly get the idea of what he was up to. But trust me, this one deserves no defense. This wasn't some poor student looking for help that got shut on. This was an outright cheat who got what he deserved.

Please don't make up excuses for him without at least reading the thread first and seeing if those are founded.

You mention that maybe he isn't an English speaker. Well he seemed to do pretty well in the thread and is going to an American university so I think we can assume he is at least good enough at English to understand what we said to him.

You say we have little clue to the context of the question but that is patently false. We knew exactly the context of the question because the OP said flat out that he was late on his assignment and didn't have time and wanted someone to give him an answer so he wouldn't fail the assignment. Context doesn't get any clearer than that. Then he PMed me not to waste his time trying to teach him to please just write the code and send it to him. So you need to get your facts straight on context. There was no doubt about the context here.

As for your bullying analogy, no that isn't accurate at all. This wasn't some doe eyed noob that we were picking on. We didn't pull out some BS reason as you say. This was someone trying to take advantage of us who got it fed back to him.

If you're going to try to defend this dipshit, then please at least go find out what actually happened instead of inventing a scenario in your head that couldn't be further from the truth and then berating us for your imagination. THAT IS textbook bullying.

Just in case anyone is in any doubt, here's the text of the "Report to moderator"

Reported by on 05-11-2017, 14:01:58. They left the following message:

Can you please delete this thread? I don't want my teacher to see this thread.

You didn't remove it did you? I sent his teacher an email telling him where to look.

Delta_G:
You didn't remove it did you?

Are you kidding?

Msssltd, bro, pal, dude.... speaking of trolls you gotta be the biggest one here. Delta-G might belt out a one liner now and again but you have written an entire article of nonsense meant to stir up flames. Please.

At least when I turn loose on someone I try to know what is actually going on first.

..... and is going to an American university

I thought it was a kid! If an adult goes into a room full of strangers they need to mind what they do till they know the rules.

I sent his teacher an email telling him where to look

I don't think there was any trolling or bullying going on but maybe that was going a bit far. Then again trying to pay to have an assignment done is a bit blatant somehow it seems worse than just pleading to be given a solution.

maybe that was going a bit far

If you had seen the PM exchange you wouldn't think so.