I think any question should be answered if it can be answered.  I refer people to the site all the time and if they only use it once it still may benefit the AWS.  If they come on and ask a question and get good help they may stick around and also refer people to the sight.  The guy that only comes in here once and asks one question may refer the site to another that may stick around for a long time if he gets good help.  I see where your coming from though MDG.

MDG Custom Weld,  John

I too saw this question and felt someone was asking us to do his/her homework.  I agree with MDG Custom Weld's assessment.  I am opposed to helping people "Cheat".

I grew up needing to get a ride from my mother to get to the library to do the research papers in the 7th and 8th grades.  I cannot imagine what it would have been like to have the internet available.  Even today, my internet research experience is limited.  Today I could not imagine how I could put a footnote in my paper attributing a passage in the paper to "John Wright; AWS Forum, 11-07-07, Homework String" . 

On the other hand, I never grew up with the internet, so I do not know if I have made a valid observation, or if I am just practicing punditry.

John, I hope I am not hurting your feelings.  I think you offered a valid new idea. However, I am still opposed to the idea.

Joe Kane

The considerable strength of the contributing posters here on the forum, some of the leading experts in the trades, must always be tempered by the ever present fact that this is an internet chat room and anybody can pretty much say anything they want as far as advice goes. Take that any way you like, folks are free to comment on any post; and those who post answers to very technical questions often have little or nothing in the way of qualifications, experience or training in the areas to which they speak. It may or may not be a bargain, even with no cost.

Citing the AWS forum as a source for a homework assignment or research paper is not going to fulfill an MLS type of format requiement anyhow.
http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citmla.htm

On the other hand... it is good for learners to find information via computer.  Part of teaching and learning is making sure the source of information is trustworthy.

As far as my views of students looking to fill in the blanks on a homework assignment..... My style would be to point them toward the answers... Miller, Lincoln, the DOD all have technical articles that will answer most entry level questions and even some pretty high level quesitons.... I don't think it would be harmful to drop a student the link to some of that information and then invite them back to ask more specific questions if the text indicated did not fit the learners needs.

Hopefully the schools are still putting the greatest emphasis on the testing.  I hated homework when I was in school and was always looking for the easy way out, too.  But when it came to the tests and the majority of the grade it was you either know or you dont.  It is true, the kids will find the easy way out but maybe they are comprehending the answers they get the easy way.  At least they are still giving some effort and not dropping out like too many do.  Still i dont think it is a bad idea not to answer when you know that is what is going on.

From mypoint of view, it isn't answering the question that creates a problem, it is the use of the answer.

If I were I a student, and I got an "answer" from here, I would want to verify that it is correct before submitting it.  So while it may have helped the student know "what" to look for, it still requires them to type it, read the answer, and then verify it....or risk a bad grade.  Still seems like learning to me.

What gave it away that he was looking for answers on homework? lol  It wasn't his screen name was it.;-)

What got me was the bunk BS "I wanna be welder etc" This person for what ever reason needed questions answered. If the poster had said I am looking for some answers to homework questions and need some help, that is one thing. To use the "Iwanna be a welder answer this for me" irritated me. Also notice after the question was answered the punk did not have the manners to thank the poster.

i can not think of a better resource for welding information and answers to questions, along with the very informative dialog to follow. as far as answers for homework, you get out of it what you put into it. a single post of a homework question will most likely not be retained. i find it hard to judge someones intent from a posted question, that seem a little difficult.

Well, sounds like everyone has agreed on steering a young pup asking homework questions in the direction of the right answer instead of flat out telling him the answer.  I think that is a very helpful and will help a person be able to someday find answers on their own.  It will be interesting to watch and see how they try and trick us into giving up the answers once they catch on the crafty little F'ers.lol  This guy was pretty easy to catch, but some might not be so easy when they find out that you will make them search a little for the answers.

The teachers intent in asking the homework question is that the student has done the reasearch and covered the material, usually in the text that will give the answer. Being given the answer bypasses the greater ammount of learning that is supposed to have taken place. So in the end, it is the student who is shortchanged. The question becomes one of ethics, is it right for Us to help the student shortchange themselves?

Hello Gentlemen;

I never, well almost never, use the term lightly.

Many of us post on a regular basis and we willingly share what we know with those that take the time to post their questions.

I had several experiences and a thought on this subject that I've used as a basis of answering many student questions. I've had many professors and instructors over the years. There were those that willingly answered questions and tried to steer me toward other resources that provided more insight than the 30 second short form answer they provided. Then there were the few (luckily the minority) that would say, "Figure it out yourself", with no further help or direction provided so that I could help myself. I always questioned whether they knew anything other than what was in the text book they used in their classroom. I avoided any additional classes they taught to the extent I took a required course at a different institution simply because to take another course from that instructor was a waste of time. 

I have been one to always ask questions if I didn't understand a point the professor was trying to make and I expected an answer. I paid for my education out of my own pocket and I was paying that person's salary. I expect more than a simple, "figure it out for yourself."

I've had help from other individuals during my entire career. Who here hasn't? We all ask questions and we appreciate honest meaningful responses from those that are willing to share their knowledge and experience. We are the product of our environment and we represent the sum knowledge we have acquired over the years by asking questions, reading, and our work experience. At a young age I wasn't able to be a contributor, but with time I have been fortunate enough to arrive at the point where I can pass down what I know to younger people. I hope that it is worth their while to read.

At first glance, the individual asking the question appears to be taking the easy way out in asking for our help in answering his or her questions. However, is this any different than asking your mom or dad for help with your homework when you were a youngster? When you asked them for help, did they say read your book and let me watch television (or read the newspaper or listen to the radio)? I was fortunate enough to have parents that would help me. The manner in which they helped was one of fostering me to help me find the answer. We had a set of encyclopedias that was a major investment for my parents. I remember the door to door salesman that came to the house selling those books of knowledge and the discussions of how my father would pay for those books.

When I had a question that I couldn't answer, my father would review the information in the text with me and help me locate the information I needed. If that wasn't sufficient, he would pull out one of the heavy volumes from the set of encyclopedias and we would look through the index to find the volume that contained the information I was looking for. I remember some of the homework questions my teachers gave me were intended to force us to use different references. That in itself was a learning experience. With my parents help, I learned to look up information without their assistance.

Today the youngsters have the internet as a resource. We are a resource. How we reply to the questions posted by other tradesmen or youngsters will determine whether they come back for help and learn from us or go elsewhere. Many children today aren't blessed with a home with two parents. For some, we are the surrogate parents. What kind of parent do we want to be; helpful or dismissive?

I like some of the approaches mentioned by several of you, such as, a brief answer and a reference where they can find additional authoritive information. I don't support the few respondents that think the youngster is simply cheating and trying to find the easy way out. That may be the case, but it isn't going to help by figuratively "slapping the kid alongside the head" and telling them to go figure it out for them self.

We have the intelligence to figure out which individuals are simply doing their homework and are looking for easy answers. However, when we answer their questions we are helping them to learning two additional skills. The first one is writing skills and the second is reading skills. The fact that they post their questions and read our replies is reinforcing those skills. Maybe one thing that we can do is ask them to rewrite the question and do a spelling check as my friend Joe Kane often tells us to do. He isn't being critical of us asking the question; he just wants us to improve our writing skills. I always try to do a spell check so I don't get slapped along the side of my head from Joe. See Joe, I do listen to you.

Writing and spelling are difficult for some people to master. I should know, I got a "D" in English while I was at Ohio State University in my early years. My daughter, while she was in Junior High School, used to read my inspection reports and check my spelling before I sent them to my clients. For years, an English textbook I used for one of my courses was a few inches from my finger tips. I still remember the title, "Plain Rhetoric Please". I lost it during one of our many moves and have missed it ever since. I learned as much from my daughter about writing as I did from all those English teachers I had.

To end my rant, I see nothing wrong in helping anyone willing to take the time to post a question. The manner in which we chose to respond can either encourage learning or discourage the person asking the question from coming back for our help. I would rather see them come back every evening for our help and help them to learn the joy of learning.

It's good to be home again, even if it is for one day.

Lawrence and Stephan, see you in Chicago on Sunday (tomorrow) and anyone that will be at the show, I hope we bump into each other. Drop me an email if you are interested in getting together.

Best regards - Al