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It's okay to ask stupid questions

There is such thing as a stupid question

If you're in the real world, and your job deals with anything that requires training, you WILL eventually engage with people that ask easily solved or obvious questions. But, the thing is, stupid questions are relative. What's obvious to me or you isn't obvious to someone who's in a completely different technical field.

It's okay to not want to deal with stupid questions

Often times, communities find themselves bogged down with the tedium of repeatedly answering questions and solving issues for others.

2/3 of the time, stupid questions are a result of a failure in communication and access to information

This is why "Google it!" is the most useless response to someone else. Google isn't nearly as useful when you don't know what exactly to search and have no means to obtain and filter out good information. Often times, a troubleshooting step might be gated behind something like Reddit.

Let's present a common example.

"I want to know the playthrough order for this game series!"

John Doe might look it up on Google. He'll maybe be directed to various filler AI-generated articles with incorrect orders. He might come across unhelpful YouTube videos. He may even go as far to click on Reddit links.

Turns out the correct play order is RIGHT THERE on the Reddit sidebar!! How could ANYONE miss that?

Well, off the bat, Reddit defaults to the new UI that obfuscates sidebar information quite a bit. People unfamiliar with Reddit or even seasoned veterans can be misdirected and forget it's present. Seemingly accessible information isn't nearly as accessible as you may think to everyone.

People ask obvious and silly questions often times because the means to get a coherent answer aren't present.

Elitism is often times the incorrect response to this kind of behavior. There is often a UI or UX failure in the chain of events leading to the alleged stupidity.

Some people just want to hear your thoughts. Be social

There are other times where people will ask Google-able questions via social platforms or even in person. Maybe you could sit down and look it up yourself, but frankly people often just want to hear your thoughts and expertise on something. This shouldn't be controversial. People consider you someone worth listening to.

/tech/