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Is it OK to ask a lot questions without giving any answers as long as the questions are reasonable, not duplicate, not obviously available in the docs, etc?

I'm not very advanced, so answering questions takes a long time since I have to google, read manuals, etc. to find an answer, and more experienced users are likely to give a better answer even if they don't flat-out beat me timewise as well.

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  • 3
    Absolutely ok, asking clear well written questions are extremely important. Even if you ask an easy question, it should clearly describe what you want to do, how you tried to do it and what problem you faced while doing it. So that others can understand what you are asking. There is not expectation from anyone here that they need to participate in asking and also in answering. Many users only answer, many users only ask. It is perfectly acceptable. Commented Sep 23, 2014 at 18:19
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    IMO the most learning can be done if you try to answer questions yourself. It forces you to learn how to think about a problem and how to find solutions to it, which enables you to also solve your own problems without needing to ask. Having said that, that's just a recommendation, not a requirement.
    – deceze Mod
    Commented Sep 23, 2014 at 18:23
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    Related. Serously.
    – user1228
    Commented Sep 23, 2014 at 18:26
  • @psubsee2003 Definitely a duplicate. I'm surprised it didn't show up in the "possible duplicates" sidebar as I was writing my question. Should I delete this question since it is a duplicate, or should I leave it?
    – BonsaiOak
    Commented Sep 23, 2014 at 18:26
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    @Will The quality questions qualification is relevant here.
    – Servy
    Commented Sep 23, 2014 at 18:31
  • @BonsaiOak leave it. Usually duplicates are not a problem and can be beneficial - they help other users find the questions with different keywords. Commented Sep 23, 2014 at 18:40
  • @Will Sorry for flagging that, I finally get it.
    – BonsaiOak
    Commented Sep 23, 2014 at 18:45

1 Answer 1

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Asking questions without answering questions is perfectly fine.

Not bothering to do simple web searches, read the manual, or otherwise do your due diligence in attempting to research and try to solve your own problem before asking on SO is not appropriate.

If you aren't so much as taking the time to search for existing solutions, look through the manual, etc. then you're not asking appropriate questions. Whether or not you also answer questions is irrelevant; what matters is if the questions are of suitable quality.

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    100k. Congrats!
    – nicael
    Commented Sep 23, 2014 at 18:21

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