I think we need to differentiate between "gimme the codez" type questions, and one where the user has a clear problem definition.

And well, comes back to an issue I have with canned comments. I personally (non modhattedly) think "This is not a code writing service" seems a bit harsh. (my modhat gives me a +5 closehammer... so modhattedly I'd just close bad questions appropriately)

If the question is terrible, back it up with a closevote. If the question is borderline, maybe try to fix up the language and prod with some comments.

In short, if a comment isn't going to actually improve the question anyway its rather pointless. And well, saying this is not a code writing service dosen't help. Simply vote to close appropriately and move on, or try to get more information from the user on what he's tried or what he needs to do.

In fixer's example, its not a terrible question - there's a pretty clear problem definition and the comment results in no practical improvement of the question. If the OP knew what to do with the macro recorder he would have done it. A better idea would have been to post an answer anyway based on that. Not everyone has the same skills/problem domain.

I've tried to fix up example Jonno's given in the comments - by focusing on what the OP needs "I need to do an if else loop but I am unsure how to do it" and mercilessly removing whatever's not needed. It still feels like a X Y problem to me, but that's a whole different stinky dog treat.

So, while I do appreciate the risk of broken window syndrome, maybe we can use our edit/close/comment powers appropriately rather than posting a short, rather harsh comment.

I think we need to differentiate between "gimme the codez" type questions, and one where the user has a clear problem definition.

And well, it comes back to an issue I have with canned comments. I personally (non modhattedly) think "This is not a code writing service" seems a bit harsh. (My modhat gives me a +5 closehammer... so modhattedly I'd just close bad questions appropriately.)

If the question is terrible, back it up with a closevote. If the question is borderline, maybe try to fix up the language and prod with some comments.

In short, if a comment isn't going to actually improve the question anyway it's rather pointless. And well, saying this is not a code writing service dosen't help. Simply vote to close appropriately and move on, or try to get more information from the user on what he's tried or what he needs to do.

In fixer's example, it's not a terrible question - there's a pretty clear problem definition and the comment results in no practical improvement of the question. If the OP knew what to do with the macro recorder he would have done it. A better idea would have been to post an answer anyway based on that. Not everyone has the same skills/problem domain.

I've tried to fix up example Jonno's given in the comments - by focusing on what the OP needs "I need to do an if else loop, but I am unsure how to do it" and mercilessly removing whatever's not needed. It still feels like a X Y problem to me, but that's a whole different stinky dog treat.

So, while I do appreciate the risk of the broken window syndrome, maybe we can use our edit/close/comment powers appropriately rather than posting a short, rather harsh comment.