15

Consider some users with high reputation but without any question. IMHO, I think every people in the world has problem to be asked to others.

So the questions are

  1. Do they really have no problem to be asked? Or is it just one of some other aspects they want to compete with each other? Why don't they ask question?
  2. Is there any benefit for users having high reputation and no question?
6
  • 2
    Doesn't this question violate the 'No question about specific people' rule that got us into trouble before?
    – Alan Munn
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 16:49
  • 3
    @AlanMunn That did pass through my mind, although the rule is really more to do with 'issues' with individuals.
    – Joseph Wright Mod
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 18:26
  • 4
    Asking questions well comes with a cost: you have to take the time to explain what exactly you are asking for, and you feel some obligation to read through, understand, and respond to proposed answers and comments. If no one on the site is more qualified than you to answer your question, the benefits of asking may not be worth the cost. For certain users, this applies to almost any question they might ask. Commented Jan 8, 2014 at 10:43
  • 1
    Whether they ask questions or not, it is great that they end up helping the community through their answers. And in return get rewarded by the high reputations.
    – McGafter
    Commented Jan 8, 2014 at 13:41
  • 1
    I've been asking myself the same. Because usually in academia, the more you know the more questions you have. Commented Jan 10, 2014 at 18:08
  • Somewat similar question in "Server Fault": meta.serverfault.com/questions/3153/… I'm guessing some of the answers there also hold true for High Rep TeX.SE users :-)
    – ricmarques
    Commented Jan 11, 2014 at 15:22

3 Answers 3

31

How do you ask a question?, I've only seen an answer box.

5
  • 9
    I'm sure I saw the “Ask a question” only here on Meta.
    – egreg
    Commented Jan 6, 2014 at 10:37
  • 1
    How? I always use IMT to compose my questions and answers. Commented Jan 6, 2014 at 13:44
  • 6
    TeX.SE obviously cheated you guys on your accounts. Log in under pseudonyms to see the Question boxes.
    – McGafter
    Commented Jan 8, 2014 at 13:39
  • 2
    Perhaps the question box will be automatically replaced with other administrative tools after users reach 150k reps without any questions. Commented Jan 9, 2014 at 20:32
  • 2
    @McGafter Sometimes I swear that's what they actually do… Commented Jan 11, 2014 at 20:11
34

i can't speak for the gentlemen named in this question, but i can see some definite benefits to participating in the community without asking (m/any) questions.

  • an interest in increasing the skill and knowledge of tex users, which in turn helps to ensure the continued use of tex, which much of the world thinks must be obsolete because the underlying software has been essentially "frozen" since 1984.

  • learning new ways of looking at various problems; particularly if a person is involved in writing packages or documentation, that person can't predict all the myriad ways instructions can be misinterpreted, no matter how paranoid s/he may be on the subject. input from a varied (and in this case, volunteer) user base helps one to improve materials intended for "public" use.

  • the satisfaction of having been helpful and even useful.

1
  • 7
    Also, some of those "question-less" contributors have plans for writing books on TeX related topics, inclusing LaTeX3. If only for educational purposes (e.g. to identify common sources of confusion or what average users are enthusiastic about), hanging around TeX.SE must be very valuable for authors in order to decide what to focus on in a TeX-related book.
    – jub0bs
    Commented Jan 5, 2014 at 23:59
27

Speaking of myself, a while ago I realised that I have been a member of the site for almost two years without asking a single question, so for the next issue I had, I decided to ask a question after a reasonable attempt to finding an answer.

But generally, I’m not used to asking questions, I just try to figure the answers myself, this is how I usually work TeX.SE or not. So why do I participate in this site? I learn a lot by reading people answers (even if I’m not immediately interested in issue, as there is a good chance I’ll need it at some point, and then I’ll know where to look), and if I can help people with things I know, why not.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .