What is the problem with posting an image (or link) and asking “How do I do this?”

Question

What is the problem with asking

• “How do I fix this?”

• "How do I do this in blender?"

• "why is this happening"

or

• "Go to this link and tell me how to do it" ?

Answer 1

In addition to posting a sample image or a link to one, it is very helpful if you describe in the title what you are trying to do, and then add more detail in as part of the text in the question.

"How do I do is this?" questions have many problems.

• Other users may not see exactly what you mean. It's best to be clear about what you're wondering about. Otherwise, you might get answers talking about a completely different issue, or asking you more questions instead of answering.

• No one looking for the exact same issue is likely to ever find this in a search, because there's nothing specific in the tilte, or the contents of the question. There's no way in Google or other search engines to distinguish one "How do I do this" from another. If you describe the issue, the tools used, or any other specific word, those looking for the same answer have a better chance of finding your post useful.

• People who are looking for a completely different thing may stumble across your question, which doesn't help anyone. A clear description will let them skip over it (or know right away that they should ask a separate question).

As for the "look at this link and help me" questions (or those where the images are not visible as part of the post):

• Asking others to look at files, videos and pictures in other sites just to figure out what it is that you are asking, will only lessen your chances of getting a decent answer. If someone who would want to help has to make extra effort, on top of the one that means writing an answer, then that person might just skip your question and move on to a different post. The site has many questions per day, as unanswered questions move down of the main page, the chances of getting your question answered go down as well.

• If the link changes or gets deleted, then questions that rely on it become incomprehensible and are useless. No one learns from it any more.

Sometimes it's hard to put pictures into words, or even know what to say, but please make it easier for those who might help you: Use images as supporting information to the text in your question. If you expect others to put some effort in helping you, the least you could do is make an effort yourself too.