Why are electronics SE questions getting down-voted so often?

Question

Users who aren't Elec. gurus seem to be asking legitimate questions to which they don't know the answer and they may even possibly going about it the wrong way.

Other SE site users guide the misguided user in the right direction and provide answers that future curious persons can read about. I've noticed on this site to be very heavy handed with the down-votes.

Why?

It may be related to this question as well, but the answers don't explain the negativity.

Update: March 25, 2013

It was suggested that this question is based on no fact and a knee-jerk reaction. So I've compiled the data below with links to the queries comparing EE with similar and popular SE sites. It should now be clear that Electronics.SE has doubled its efforts in down-voting lately.

mathematics

Super User

Stack Overflow

prorgammers

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Electrical Engineering

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Server Fault

Answer 1

I think other answers are reading too much into the site title.

The word engineering is there as the result of a compromise, and it isn't meant to absolutely define the site. Kortuk reviews the reasons for the name here.

To quote the FAQ:

This site is for electronics and electrical engineering professionals, students, and enthusiasts. We ask and answer questions about electrical and electronics engineering topics, which include electronics, physical computing, and those working with microcontrollers, Arduinos and embedded systems.

We need to be aware and accept that not every student or enthusiast is going to know all of the conventions of our field, or be interested in following all the discipline needed when doing design work professionally.

There are a lot of guys out there in the bridge-building business (and even some US state legislatures) who would say we shouldn't call our discipline "engineering" if we don't have a PE license. Would it make any sense to say we won't accept any questions or answers from US users if they don't have a PE?

Answer 2

• EE.SE is the toughest EE board I've ever seen¹. The customs are Spartan/Darwinian, to which I fully subscribe.
• EE.SE is also the cleanest.
• EE.SE is very knowledgeable, especially if we adjust for the relatively small number of users.
• EE.SE has the largest proportion of users who operate under real first and last name, which generally attests to the credibility and effort.

This is where I go after the days of to-no-avail research.

At the moment, EE.SE is unique among other SE boards. It's the only fully released (non-beta, that is) board dedicated to some branch of engineering (non-software, that is).

EE is arguably a tougher discipline than other SE sections. Projects require components and often specialized equipment. Errors can be costly in terms of money, time and effort. It is no wonder why the standards are high.

update [Nov 2014]
¹ Programmers.SE is another tough one. Equally tough or slightly tougher. My kind of board.

Answer 3

To answer the question I think it's possibly the attitude of the community, for example a comment I saw that reads:

We speak English here, not whatever dialect of Gibberish you are using.

As if everyone on the internet speaks English as a first language.

It could also be that there's no penalty for downvoting questions, only answers. So, if I don't like a particular question, I can downvote it without penalty to my reputation. That being said, if the question is salvageable, it should be edited or commented for clarification for current and future users of the site, as is the SE spirit.

I don't think this question or this one is necessarily bad, questions like that are asked on SuperUser, and in particular to this site's faq I believe falls under the category of:

However, if your motivation is “I would like others to explain ______ to me”, then you are probably OK.

and also

You should only ask practical, answerable questions based on actual problems that you face.

I will agree that the latter of those two questions should be edited for a better fit on the site, but I wouldn't say they it would be far from this question with a little help.

I completely get when people ask bad questions where it's impossible to understand what they want, but (in reference to questions similar to my first two example questions) there are some questions where the answer should include at least a basic explanation of principles involved, whether the user asked for them or not, as that is part of what makes a good answer (another is actually answering the question). For example, If it's

1)hard to determine a parts list without more information or

2)can't be determined at all,

then that's what 1)comments are for and 2)should be included in the answer(s). In my profession I frequently run into people who 'think' they know what they want, as I'm sure happens in many technical fields. This site is no different, if someone wants to know something, they may really want to know something else or the theory behind that something as well. Even if they don't, including the theory/background can make the question better on the site long term.

My answer is not in reference to obviously terrible questions like this, but questions in the grey area, which I believe is what the OP is referring to.

Would anyone disagree that questions asked on this site should fit the following format (for EE and not programming of course)?

Bottom line is, some people coming to the site don't know much about EE or the site, but need help, and as members of a community we should help them when able.

Answer 4

I will admit that I have only been on EE.SE for a short period of time, but I have noticed that people are extremely quick to down-vote before giving the original poster or a responder an opportunity to clarify his/her question or answer. In my humble opinion, down-voting a responder before giving him/her an opportunity to expand upon his/her answer is akin to biting the hand that feeds you. Sooner or later, knowledgeable, but time-pressed EE.SE members will stop posting.

Another thing that I have noticed is that a lot of original posters want to be spoon fed. There's a huge difference between giving a man/woman a fish and teaching a man/woman to fish. Part of becoming a competent design engineer in any discipline is learning how to conduct research, which is part of the engineering apprenticeship process (real-world engineering is mostly learned on the job). Back when I started my career, electrical engineers and computer scientists who chose to work in embedded system design where thrown into the engineering pool feet first (computer engineering did not exist as a standalone discipline at that point in time). Older embedded systems practitioners would point us in the right direction, but they would not do our work.

Finally, I have noticed that several people have accumulated points by reposting erroneous or incomplete information. No one benefits from this type of information exchange. This practice only serves to propagate ignorance.

Answer 5

Simply because some questions show absolutely no effort. I am actually one of the ones that tries to give people time to correct their question, to let them give more information, but there are many questions that are ridiculous that want people to "Do all my work for me".

As was pointed before, Engineering is a tough subject that only a very small percentage of the population works in. So, because electronics is generally attractive to the masses, we get many questions that are not constructive.

Still, I would like to have a way for posts to be given time to edit and improve in the system. If it doesn't improve, then we close them.

"Does FPGA cause health issues", need I say more?

Answer 6

en·gi·neer·ing [en-juh-neer-ing]
noun
1. the art or science of making practical application of the knowledge of pure sciences, as physics or chemistry, as in the construction of engines, bridges, buildings, mines, ships, and chemical plants.

Unfortunately, it's all to common that people ignore what engineering means, and think that "electrical engineering" is synonymous with "electronics". The logical rigour and attention to detail, the desire to understand the underlying pure science, is what makes engineering work. Downvotes are cast not because people are ignorant, but because they aren't asking about engineering: they are merely asking about electronics.

I can see how this could be viewed as "negativity", but it could also be viewed as a healthy regulation which serves to keep this community about engineering, and differentiated from the internet community as a whole, where most people are not engineers.

It's possible to have questions which demonstrate ignorance and yet are good questions. What differentiates them from ignorant questions which are bad questions is that they are well-asked and aimed at understanding the electronics, and not at a higher-level goal which is an application of electronics, not an engineering of electronics.

Good question: How does the current know how much to flow, before having seen the resistor?
Bad question: How do I protect a LED system from AC

What makes the 2nd question bad is that it shows no attempt to understand what electricity does or how to use it. There is a problem (shock hazard) and the question seeks a solution without understanding the mechanisms of the hazard. It's as if a bridge engineer wants to know how to keep his bridge from falling down when he doesn't even understand why they fall down. This isn't engineering; it's just using. Had the question been "How does electricity shock people?" it probably would have been better received.

At the end of the day, I appreciate a forum that excludes people not interested in this level of understanding. There are scores of places on the internet where I can go to participate in a community with an average understanding of electronics. When I want an engineer's understanding of electronics, I come here.

I should also say I take delight in seeing people who obviously desire an engineer's understanding, but simply don't have it. If the question also demonstrates a basic competency for using Google, a respect of other people's time, and a scientific curiosity, I always upvote and answer if I can, even if the question shows ignorance.

To answer the question of why questions here are downvoted so often (relative to other SE sites), I'd attribute it to three reasons:

1. this is a technical community. (which is valuable!)
2. a higher proportion of the internet has basic competency in software engineering than electrical engineering.
3. electronics are a big part of the layperson's life, so it's not uncommon for laypeople to wander here.

Answer 7

Now that we have some real although superficial data, we can actually talk about what it means.

I think what it means is that EE.SE and SE as a whole is maturing. We no longer have the rather small self-selected group of users that really care about the site or have decent subject knowledge. The great unwashed masses have started to realize we exist, realize there is good subject matter content here, and are starting to come here for whatever questions pop into their heads. These people care less about the site. We are just a means to a end, which is a quick answer to some question without being bothered by all that "understanding" stuff.

Note that the percentage of downvotes on questions is roughly in line with how much the average unwashed thinks they know anything about the subject matter or encounter problems in their daily lives that they think falls within the subject domain. Very few people think they are mathemeticians or know much about math, except those that actually do. To the unwashed, the mathematics site sounds like it's for experts and they don't dare ask what 22/7 is because they figure they will get laughed out of town.

At the other extreme we have computer administration. Lots of people fancy themselves knowing something about this, or have to do it and run into problems and have to ask someone. We are near the computer admin end because many of those that bump into 'tricity stuff don't know the difference between electrical engineering, consumer electronics, and what a electrician does.

The popularity of arduinos is also a reason. There is now a large pool of people that know little about electronics but bump up against it whether they like it or not. These people usually don't want to learn (that's why arduino appealed to them in the first place), just want a answer, often to a question they don't understand and therefore can't properly ask. Of course such questions get downvoted here, as they should. These people don't belong here, but they don't know that and probably don't care when they do know it.

So what's the answer? We continue to be vigillant. Don't be afraid to downvote bad questions. I think this trend is only starting, so we'll probably have to downvote even more in the future. If we don't insist on good quality questions that show a little research, are presented properly (we should get about the same care and neatness as a homework assignment), are understandable, contain the necessary information, and above all, exhibit interest in the subject matter beyond just a simple immediate answer, then we will be overrun by the uwashed hordes.

There is a natural progression from success to mediocracy, which then leads to drivel and eventually dissollusion. The only way to head off the transformation is to keep the standards up. The flood is coming. Shields up!