How to use this forum?

Is there brief description how is someone supposed to use this forum?

I know the basics - someone asks question, for example with problem solution and the community helps to find the answer. 0k, that’s the basic idea. If the one who asked the question is satisfied with the answer he can vote up the question and/or accept it, the one who answered get karma to be motivated to answer questions in the future.

Also there is question about karma.

There is also description what kind of questions can be asked here.

I have to mention community wiki question.

But what about some advanced instructions?

  • for example when someone asks for counter example for his/her solution, because he/she wants to know the case when the solution returns wrong answer? My opinion is that in such case providing such input is enough and solver have to find the problem in his solution, that’s how he/she learns something. Let me know what’s your opinion :wink:
  • recently this question was closed, so I’m asking: Answered question have to be closed?
  • or hints when to answer the question and when just add a comment?
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The codechef discuss is entirely community driven. So it is the community by and large which decides what is to be done when there is no specific rule for it.

I completely agree with your first point just give enough information so that the user can solve the question from there on. If that doesn’t serve their purpose they can post a comment. Then you can just edit your answer instead of posting a new answer. You use this kind of comment-edit cycles to arrive at an acceptable answer at times.

I had closed that question because it had one particular answer and that had been posted. Not necessarily every answered question has to be closed. If there is a scope for further discussion apart from the already provided answers then I don’t see a point in closing it. Moreover I guess one can still comment on a question which has been closed and ask for it to be reopened.

Answer Vs Comments is fairly intuitive If you think your post tries to answer the users question it has to be an answer. Everything else has got to be a comment. I guess this need not apply for community wiki though.

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@betlista: I think Answered question should not be closed.I think any other Discussion forum(Example Stack Over Flow, top-coder community etc ) does not close the answered question, even if it is accepted by the one who asked. Once it gets closed ,no one wants to answer such question ,so the probability of number of answers(infact better answers or different approach) decreases.

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Posting question which is relevant to earn a system point given in codechef here called karma. Karma point reach certain level, it gives you the privilege to do stuff others can’t

Thanks for the answer it also reminds me the question about community wiki question.

Probably both of you are right. I suggest that if you have “close question” privilege, you can close question without accepted answer let say older than 2 months (with “accept” privilege it would be more consistent) if the user that asked didn’t return back to accept it.

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