The #help tag will die if it's not moderated
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Si

Si @devdrake0

About: Husband & Father. Founder, Owner, Lead Developer, Writer and Reviewer of Code Tips. Senior Full Stack Software Developer.

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The #help tag will die if it's not moderated

Publish Date: Oct 14 '19
7 8

Sometimes, when I have 5 minutes of waiting for something to install/compile/run, I peruse the #help section to see if there's anyone that is asking a question I can help with.

People are misusing this tag, and assuming it's for articles that are to help people (I used to do it too), which is going to kill the purpose of it.

If I go to the #help section, and the top 2/3 articles are not people asking for help I usually just stop. Sometimes I'll post a comment trying to educate, but then I see the same person posting an incorrect article under that tag again the next day.

This section really needs some moderation... I've no idea if the mods of dev will see this post but, if you do, please do something.

Comments 8 total

  • Vicente G. Reyes
    Vicente G. ReyesOct 14, 2019

    Hi Si, #beginners & #python mod here. You can actually send an email to yo@dev.to if you want to moderate the #help tag 😄

    • Si
      SiOct 14, 2019

      Ah I didn't know that, maybe I will 😊

      • Vicente G. Reyes
        Vicente G. ReyesOct 14, 2019

        No pressure 😊 We all have our own jobs aside from being a mod at DEV 😊

        • Si
          SiOct 14, 2019

          I've emailed 😄 - It'd be good to make it a place where people can come and ask for help.

          Thanks for the heads up!

  • 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐝𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐝
    𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐝𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐝Oct 14, 2019

    Maybe we also need a reminder when you're creating a post for certain tags... For example if you try and publish something and you use the "help" tag, a popup asks you to confirm if you're asking for help, or giving it. If you're asking, it keeps the tag. If you're offering help, it removes it.

    • Si
      SiOct 14, 2019

      It's a good idea, I think education/moderation should be tried before adding more steps though 😄

  • ArcticSpaceFox
    ArcticSpaceFoxOct 14, 2019

    Maybe making it more like stackoverflow 🙃 but thank you that actually help others 😁

  • Thomas H Jones II
    Thomas H Jones IIOct 15, 2019

    The joys of language. Not everyone "gets" the implied difference between "help" (i.e., seeking assistance) and "howto" (i.e., offering assistance – frequently simplified – with a topic).

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