Is this Really a Bad Question?

Question

I'm getting slightly annoyed at people's continued comments on my question, and I'm wondering if I really should be, or if I need to actually fix something.

I've asked what I believe to be a very simple question ("simple" meaning "easy to understand", not necessarily "easy to answer"):

How do I resize a file from the command prompt (or in a batch file)?

I've started receiving comments like:

• "What is the actual problem being experienced?"
• "Is there any real world scenario behind this question?"
• "It is really vague..."
• "... and/or specific to a single requirement"
• Someone even voted to close it as "not a real question".

My questions:

• Does it really matter why I'm resizing the file? Maybe it's because my boss told me to. Maybe it's because I want to learn how to do it. Or maybe it's because I want to avoid fragmentation. In any case, does it make a difference to the answer why I'm resizing the file? If so, what should I clarify?

• How do I go about proving that, indeed, I ran into this problem?

• What was "vague" about my question?

• Did I do something wrong about asking something that's specific to a single requirement?

Answer 1

Er.. what? Resize a Word document? A .png image? A text file? A Doom .wad file?

The question as stated makes no sense.

Answer 2

Well, it can be interpreted in many, many ways! Are you trying to:

• Resize an image to another resolution?
• Resize a file by cutting away/splitting data?
• Resize a file by adding/removing data?
• etc?

It's too vague to tell what you actually want to resize in its current form. Furthermore, we don't want to check up on you. Most of the time, stating the purpose of your action will allow us to determine the best course of action for you to take.

Say you wanted a light to read by and just asked "How can I get light?" basically we could answer with:

• "Set your house on fire"
• "Get some fireflies"
• "Wait for the sun to come up"

All these answers would be valid for that question. Of course, that would be ridiculous! But if you just stated the purpose; "to be able to read", we would be able to recommend you something that would do just right for your purpose! A reading light.

Answer 3

I'm wondering if I really should be

The FAQ states:

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

In order for your question to survive and to be answerable, it needs to be based on an actual problem in practice. Rather than a theoretical question which isn't based on something and thus isn't really useful.

An optimal question that yields quality answers consists of some paragraphs, you can't expect the right answer to appear when asking a simple question that is in lack of further details or a background.

1. Without clarification, you could as well resize a picture because you want it as large as your screen.

2. You don't necessary proof that you have the problem, but we can't help you if you have no problem.

3. As outlined, details and background are missing, which confuses people and yields bad answers.

4. Yes, it renders your question as not a real question because it's too broad and to vague.

   Or not constructive enough if you didn't gave more details in the comments....

Answer 4

Only slightly annoying? I see these kinds of counter-questions all the time to the point where I practically want to hit anybody who asks it. (Unfortunately I can't give any examples because I generally try to move on and forget about it.)

In my experience the reason for these questions frequently seem to be an attempt to get the user to look at the problem differently - which by itself isn't a bad thing. For instance, a user might want to do X when in fact Y might really solve their problem better.

Unfortunately, what often actually happens when a person reveals "What the actual problem being experienced is" or "the real world scenario behind the question" is a redirection of the answer. While it is discouraged to write questions that are too specific purpose, the effect of these people trying to be helpful is often to accomplish exactly that effect - what was once a good general question now has an answer that helps only the asker, and nobody else.

I frequently find whenever I am trying to solve a problem I usually find one or more people asking the same question (not just on SO/SE sites but other forums, etc.) but for a totally different reason. And as a result of people asking why the person winds up solving the problem in a totally different way that is completely unhelpful to me.

And as a side note, it appears that the Mehrdad has updated their question since posting here. However there is no question in my mind when somebody asks how to resize a file that they want to change the file size - I would never think about any of the other things like image resolution or whatnot that other answers have suggested. So perhaps it is a question of terminology here, the asker has something in mind and is using a vocabulary that some people will just understand, while others will not. I would suggest that rather than asking questions that tend to redirect, it would be better to ask for clarification on what is meant by the question, instead of what the asker is trying to do.

Answer 5

I don't have much command-line fu, but I suspect that the problem is that there is no possible generic answer that doesn't depend on file type and/or what you mean by "resize" (Lossless/Lossy Compression, Expansion), so the only possible way to answer your question is to know what file type you are using and exactly what you are trying to do with it. Those more experienced might be completely oblivious to the fact that this is not obvious.

Lossless compression works regardless of file type, but I have no idea about expansion or lossy compression. If there is no possible generic answer, and the only possible answers are specific to file type, or method of resizing, the question may be meaningless without your intending it to be so.

A better metaphor than "How can I get light" would be "What foods should I eat to get a balanced diet?" There are so many valid interpretations that aren't silly, but that may be impractical for you personally (cost, allergies), that the only possible answers run a high risk of being branded useless, even though they are valid answers given the question as stated.

I saw that your question had been edited, but I thought a more complete explanation might be useful.