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I only try to help. Some questions are marked with minus. If I try to answer I get negative reputation or so it seems. As a teacher I have great respect for students' difficulties. One such student struggled with simple DC circuits for months taking eight tests (all different). When he finally passed he said to me: "It was very difficult and I struggled. If you meet another like me, do not give up". If someone is genuinely trying to learn, with no malice intended, we have the obligation to help and not flame. So the question is:

Is this site for everyone or just for people who already have all the answers?

Thank you for honest answers. I realise now that my interest led me to a wrong place. Electronics as a subject is already dead or dying at schools. Let someone else worry about that. I quit.

To Dim,

I am not at all interested in ranting or flaming. The question needs to be asked. The paradox is: The more electronics develop further and further and gets more complicated the less we teach.

One of the problems is generation gap. To breach the gap new teaching methods and rewritten explanations are needed. No point teaching in Latin if people do not speak it. Break the complicated into small pieces, tie them to things students already know and we can cut the the teaching time and avoid the stress and guilt many people feel when they are supposed to understand, but do not. I have seen it work from time to time and would like to perfect it.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Closing since there is a rant, not a real question. \$\endgroup\$ – Olin Lathrop Feb 11 '18 at 14:08
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    \$\begingroup\$ There is some truth that the the skills and organized thinking to ask a good question are not too different than those which let people find their own answers. But bad questions tend to lead to bad answers. If you want to help, try to use comments to get askers to improve their questions - though that will require earning a trivial amount of reputation by posting good answers on good question first. \$\endgroup\$ – Chris Stratton Feb 11 '18 at 19:04
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    \$\begingroup\$ I do think this is a valid meta question. Th OP show he tries to understand why he gets negative feedback and that should always be encouraged. Also it could give some extra guidelines through the answers. \$\endgroup\$ – gommer Feb 18 '18 at 10:40
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    \$\begingroup\$ @gom: The lead-in paragraph sounds like he's trying to understand. However, the actual question in the last sentence is clearly more trying to make a point and be rhetorical than a actual question. Such "questions" don't belong here. The "answer" the OP now posted below confirms this. \$\endgroup\$ – Olin Lathrop Feb 19 '18 at 15:59
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Olin: True about the OP's answer confirming that his last sentence in the opening was rhetoric. However, before that time and with an open mind, the question was not necessarily rhetoric and Pipe's answer proves that. Not trying to have the last word or prove I'm right, I genuinely thought this Q&A was useful. \$\endgroup\$ – gommer Feb 19 '18 at 16:30
  • \$\begingroup\$ The fallacy fallacy: asking a bad question does not mean that the question is bad. \$\endgroup\$ – user2798 Apr 5 '18 at 14:19
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Is this site for everyone or just for people who already have all the answers?

I will break this up into two questions:

Is this site for everyone?

No. The goal of the Stack Exchange network of websites is to collect a high quality database of good answers to good questions. It is for example not here to teach everyone the basics of electronics. It is also not designed to teach people how to ask a question, a skill that is sadly lacking. It is not there to help individuals with their unique problems. It is not a social community website.

For people who already have all the answers?

If you are going to answer a question, then yes. Do not answer if you are not sure. That was the "old forum model" where everyone just shoot guesses from the hip, and caused excessive noise and confusion.

Maybe you are looking for a traditional discussion forum where you can find students to teach.

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    \$\begingroup\$ This is somewhat incorrect. The site is in fact for everyone but requires that they utilize it in accordance with the rules, especially those limiting what is and is not within its mission. \$\endgroup\$ – Chris Stratton Feb 17 '18 at 21:55
  • \$\begingroup\$ This is wrong. Stack Exchange does not follow the "old forum model" because answers can be voted, edited, and they are sorted by points. Answers with negative points can be deleted or edited for clarification. \$\endgroup\$ – user2798 Apr 5 '18 at 13:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ @vz0 True. People shoot from the hip here as well, it's just not as visible. \$\endgroup\$ – pipe Apr 5 '18 at 14:50
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The question score and answer score are unrelated. A question with a negative score can have answers with positive scores.

I've spot-checked a few of your answers. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but your answers are not generally of high quality.

  • You have a tendency to write general musings on the topic of the question without addressing the actual question.
  • You tend to leave a lot of typographical errors in your posts — please proofread before posting.
  • Some of your answers are simply incorrect.

In general, I would recommend reading more of the questions and answers that are already on the site to get a better feel for how the site works. Make use of the help center.

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