Must Be Said — About Asking Questions

I’ve been a C++ TA for a few months now. Some things have been bothering me, and with thesis troubles on top, I need to speak up.

I deeply understand that the Class of 03 students are eager to learn, and I’m genuinely happy about that. But there are still some things that need to be said clearly.

1. Have you thought about it yourself or looked up information before asking?

When I first became a TA, I heard complaints about not knowing how to use MSDN or development tools. I figured no one taught them, and they just came out of high school where they were force-fed. So I gave a lecture on MSDN and tool usage. I thought that would solve it. Now near the end of the semester, on the BBS, I still see questions like:

How to convert string to int How to access the nth character of a string How to clear a set C2061: syntax error

These are things you could find the answer to in seconds by checking MSDN, Google, or asking a classmate. If you don’t have that basic self-learning ability, sorry to be blunt, but this field isn’t for you.

Some people just paste their code and shout “Help!” … waiting for someone to save them. No description of the error whatsoever.

Some even top their own posts after a few minutes, shouting: Urgent SOS… Calling TA Looking for an expert to answer Please help me! I’d be eternally grateful Why is nobody answering me… Why isn’t anyone replying! I need this tomorrow, you’d better take a look… And so on.

As if TAs are online 24/7 without eating or sleeping just to answer questions.

1. Know the right occasion, time, and place to ask questions.

I won’t say much about this. Let me share some real experiences (other TAs have similar stories):

One day, logging into bbs.tongji.net, a PM dialog pops up with 5 new messages:

- Cancel default key response Why can't I write to a file from within a class?! How to refresh items in a list in C++? C++: Comparison problem Brother omale, please help One day, logging into QQ, n offline messages: "I made a LIST CONTROL that displays selected files, but I don't know how to click to delete files shown in the LIST CONTROL" "Brother He, d:\CheatKiller\CheatKiller\CheatKillerDlg.cpp(197): error C2352: 'IsUnicode::Convert2Unicode' : illegal call of non-static member function. What's going on?" ... One day, logging into MSN Messenger, several windows pop up at once asking for help. One day, arriving at the lab before even putting down my backpack, some younger students run over: "Can I ask you a question?" One day, opening email, n messages asking for help. And even more... Eating at a small restaurant, enjoying my meal, a younger student politely asks: "Are you the TA? I..." Walking back to the dorm with my girlfriend at night, a younger student ambushes from behind: "My C++..." At 11pm, receiving a text message — someone actually typed several lines of C++ code in an SMS, even including the >> operator. Truly impressive... In the public bath, enjoying my shower, a completely naked younger student runs over: "Senior, I have a website..." Yesterday afternoon during the 2+2 graduation defense, I was sitting in the front row with Professor Ma Bo next to me, and a younger student rushes in, right at me: "Can I ask you a question?" The teachers were stunned... Thankfully my dorm location hasn't been exposed. I heard some TAs have been visited at their dorms late into the night. There's a saying: "Don't drain the pond to catch fish, don't burn the forest to hunt." I'm tired. Graduation is coming. Time to rest.