Moderators please read and consider this...

[HarveyH42]

One of the greatest parts of Electronics as a hobby, is the challenge of solving problems. I think this is why so many people jump in to help out, the great race to be the first with the best solution.

Personally, I don't know which I find more annoying. The ones that need urgent help on a 'mystery' project, for which they seem to have no clue what they want it to do, just have X number of days to complete one. Or when a well define request is made, by an obvious novice, and the first reply is "you could do that with a PIC...".

Someday, I will get started with microcontrollers (probably not the PIC), but I think its overkill, almost like you could do it off your paralell port. If its a single input, single output why bother with a microcontroller? To save a few chips, that are probably sitting in a drawer... Really not much of a solution for someone new to electronics, or hasn't used microcontrollers. It would take a couple of months to learn this stuff in your spare time.

 

[dknguyen]

There's a quote from Star Wars which applies here I think. Who's the bigger fool. The fool, or the fool who follows him?

If people really are helping lazy bums who can't be bothered to do (or even title) their own projects then they're an even bigger fool than the lazy university bum aren't they!

Brian

Ah, but who is the one that will end up failing their class?

 

[HarveyH42]

Well, if they fail the class, then they'll either have to re-take it, and hopeful learn something the second or third time through, or at least it'll be one less bum in the work place...

 

[eblc1388]

..., but PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY HELPING THE B@STARDS!

There is something good coming out of that.

You have forgotten about the many other forum users who do not have the best solution to the lazy student's problem in their minds but then learned from the solutions/suggestions posted. I sure do.

 

[Hero999]

The next time someone asks one of these questions I post them a schematic involving two microwave oven transformers connected to a pair electrodes on a belt they can wrap around their chest.

 

[Marks256]

That is insane! I like the idea! Ok, do it.

 

[AllVol]

they can wrap around their chest.

Or at least gird their loins, eh?

Distressingly,
AllVol

 

[philba]

Wow, I hate to say it but this is a most uncharitable thread. I don't want to help the lazy students but I also think outright abuse is unwarrented. A lot of them seem to not have very good english skills so it's not suprising that they don't come off as properly respectfull. Culturally, I suspect they approach us like they approach their teachers so asking for help is more like a "hello, I have a question" than a request for a complete project dump. this is why some of them come off as obsequeous.

I think we should be a bit slower to pull out the Colt 6-shooter and plug 'em.

Perhaps the proper first response is "what are you trying to do? explain in more detail" rather than "drop off the face of the earth, scum". if they fail to give detail then ignore them or, better yet, explain the situation to them.

edit: fixed attrocious gammer...

 

[Marks256]

Yes, but 99% of them never reply back. They just want a quick, no-hassle answer. Is that cheap or what? They should at least do a little work! Sure, it is nice to be lazy once in while, but not when it comes to your homework. Notice i said "your homework"? This mean that is is theirs, and not ours. A few pointers would be ok, like "Oh, you could add a cap here or a resistor there", but not "Here is the complete schematic, enjoy your A, and have a great life!". I can't stand that.

 

[philba]

or perhaps they are scared off? I would try elsewhere if I got such a nasty reception, wouldn't you?

 

[Marks256]

Yes, of course i would, and i bet you would too. The fact is that they are not posting reasonable questions. I guess there is one thing that would make this problem clearer for me. What is the actual assignment? Does the professor say "Build a project on your own", or "Build a project from a pre-made schematic". I ask you. If it is 1 then they can go @$#^ off, but if it is combination of 1 and 2, then i guess it doesn't really matter, unless they are also asking to find a project for them...

 

[ThermalRunaway]

It's the way in which some of them ask the questions though. Quite often all they're interested in is you giving them the full schematic for a circuit which will make up their entire final year project. A final year project is at least 6-8 months design work so it's not suprising that most of us think... are you serious?!?!?! No way!!

Another guy has posted a similar question in the projects section, and he has admitted freely that it's a college assignment, but he has at least explained the problem and presented an idea of his own which he has asked some advice on. He hasn't just said "give me a circuit", he's thought about the problem himself first. Even though I don't think his idea will work, he has at least proved to me that he's willing to do work himself. That's why I've tried to help him, but I won't try to help other college students who only want me to give them the final solution.

Brian

 

[kjennejohn]

You guys are SO MEAN!!!

I peruse other forums, and I have run into a couple of people who declare this forum has the meanest bunch of SOBs they have ever met. These are the same guys who want their projects largely handed to them on a platter, complete with BOMs, for their course/boss, by next Monday, pretty please.

Keep up the good work here, folks!

I put my two and a half years in at considerable expense and effort to get that degree. Now you want others to do the work for YOU??!! And you're paying...what? The guy is too lazy to even plagiarize, fer Crisakes! How many other forums did this idiot visit besides this site? Kind of, "if I ask in enough forums, someone will give it up!" Grrrr!

I guess I'm just prejudiced about broken English. I flinch at every misspelling and grammatical error in the native English-speakers' submissions. Broken pigdin threads drive me right off to the next thread. Personal failing, mea culpa. However, some of the foreign visitors speak really good English. And their technical lingo is right on.

End Two Cents,
kenjj

 

[Marks256]

It is their degree, and should be COMPLETELY THIER WORK! Nobody should give full blown schematics away, not even to the people who show effort. If they ask for help on a schematic they already have, then that is just ok. But the whole schematic? C'mon. Get real.

 

[HiTech]

Does the professor say "Build a project on your own", or "Build a project from a pre-made schematic". I ask you. If it is 1 then they can go @$#^ off, but if it is combination of 1 and 2, then i guess it doesn't really matter, unless they are also asking to find a project for them...

It doesn't take much time and effort browsing the Internet to find plenty of sites that offer a myriad of circuits..... often too many to choose from for that matter. I know that in America, there are way too many kids (even college age) that want to be spoon fed to the point short of washing their bottoms for them. I don't know what the real ratio or numbers would be comparing the real studious and motivated versus the lazy-ass over-expecting ones.

 

[Overclocked]

You think English is bad here? Well on another forum, there was every mistake, and misspelling you could ever think of. His sentences didnt make ANY sense, But he was from Egypt.

He got banned because of his attitude on the forum (he said stuff like, Oh fck this forum, it sucks, Why doesnt anyone help me, posted duplicate threads..etc)

People are just lazy, If you ask something were you know atleast 50% of what your talking about, you will probably get help. But if its like "OH GOD PLEASE HELP ME I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO"...etc, then no Your not getting help. Infact, I will lead you on a false sense of secruity, I will tell you the opposite of what you want to know.

Ha, I did that in High. In Electronics during test, people would ask me the answers, after a while of giving them the wrong answers, they got pissed and stoped asking. It was pretty funny when it happened, I would end up with a 86 or so, while the other person got a 25 :haha:

 

[dknguyen]

I peruse other forums, and I have run into a couple of people who declare this forum has the meanest bunch of SOBs they have ever met. These are the same guys who want their projects largely handed to them on a platter, complete with BOMs, for their course/boss, by next Monday, pretty please.

Keep up the good work here, folks!

Yeah, who cares if they think we're mean. We're never going to have to work with them since they are going to fail.

 

[HarveyH42]

The ones that are just beginning, like first year or high schoolers, and say so in the beginning could probably need some help. The demanding ones, or the ones that are looking for final year projects (but never have any specific function in mind) can go to hell.

While I was in school, I had so many ideas, just no time or money. Come to think of it, things haven't changed that much... I don't understand how a college kid would make it so far into an engineering degree, have such huge resources at his finger tips, need to get complete strangers to do the assignments. Doesn't seem like the course work is any tougher. If they aren't interested enough to even try, why bother getting the degree in the first place?

 

[Overclocked]

The ones that are just beginning, like first year or high schoolers, and say so in the beginning could probably need some help. The demanding ones, or the ones that are looking for final year projects (but never have any specific function in mind) can go to hell.

While I was in school, I had so many ideas, just no time or money. Come to think of it, things haven't changed that much... I don't understand how a college kid would make it so far into an engineering degree, have such huge resources at his finger tips, need to get complete strangers to do the assignments. Doesn't seem like the course work is any tougher. If they aren't interested enough to even try, why bother getting the degree in the first place?

Funny how the world Works it self out eh? The weak die off, leaving only the strong. But a couple manage to get through the system-which is why we have idiots, ******** and people who dont know what their doing.

 

[Marks256]

And the ones who do have a project, i.e. bluetooth, choose such a difficult task, that it is unreasonable. If they don't know how to do something, then they shouldn't choose it as a task!