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The stupid question is the question not asked

Why upvote code if it doesn't work?

by InfiniteSilence (Curate)
on Sep 16, 2003 at 17:44 UTC ( #291894=monkdiscuss: print w/ replies, xml ) Need Help??

A few people in PerlMonks are voting on code that they have not run themselves. I don't think that solutions qualify as 'elegant' if they do not work. I write this after testing some code myself and finding that even though eight people gave a positive vote to the node, the code did not work. The code ran and did not have any errors, but it clearly did not produce anything even like the expected output. In short, it was flat out wrong. I don't have a problem with code that has a typo. Perl will typically issue a warning provided you use strict. Also, code that does not work in every case is fine as at least it works in the intended fashion. But if you post something that simply does not work I don't think you deserve XP for it.

So, if you have voted on something recently that had code and you did not actually try and run the code, why didn't you?

Celebrate Intellectual Diversity

janitored by ybiC: Retitle from "Why vote if it doesn't work?"

Comment on Why upvote code if it doesn't work?
Re: Why upvote code if it doesn't work?
by phydeauxarff (Priest) on Sep 16, 2003 at 17:52 UTC
    Could be any number of reasons for this



Re: Why upvote code if it doesn't work?
by hossman (Prior) on Sep 16, 2003 at 17:54 UTC

    Some examples of nodes would be usefull for people to see what you mean.

    I can't rememer casting any votes recently, but I can think of at least one reasons for voting for a node without trying to run any code in it: "The contents of the node, in my opinion, has some value".

    Nodes aren't just about code .. maybe there was a good idea expressed in the text, maybe there were good intentions expressed in teh code, maybe the code did something very cool -- even if it didn't directly relate to whatever node it is in response to.

      Actually I did respond to it. Here is the original node

      Celebrate Intellectual Diversity

        Boy, you *really* showed halley on that one. I'm sure he learned a lot from your elequent critique.

        -- am

        perlfaq3: Why don't Perl one-liners work on my DOS/Mac/VMS system?



        I can now athoritatively answer your orriginal question (and can do so in the context ofthe node that prompted your question) ...

        Because it works for me.
Re: Why upvote code if it doesn't work?
by Abigail-II (Bishop) on Sep 16, 2003 at 23:54 UTC
    Considering that people often reply to a posting without having read the posting they reply to fully, does it really surprise you non-working code gets upvoted?

    This entire XP thing is a joke. It's only there so the author(s) of the site can show off their knowledge of HTML widgets. Don't let the ++ and -- labels give you any impression of their meaning - the authors might as well have put yellow, Wednesday, Queen of clubs and Can of tuna there.



      Yeah, and the next thing you know, someone will go off and write a pointless statistics page to display that bloody XP won't they :-)

      -- vek --
      I agree. Other peoples opinions don't matter at all.
      if only i were better at detecting whether tongues were firmly in cheeks i'd not have to waste bytes on the subject of XP...

      XP has not been a waste for me, even if i am not interested in the XP of the author, the reputation a posting gets provides a way to navigate thru the informational labyrinth that is PM.

      for example, i remember being attracted to the spiralling quine node, also Abigail IIs n-queens regex, because it was linked to by the best nodes. page, and many others, &c &c, apologies for stating the obvious...


Re: Why upvote code if it doesn't work?
by dsb (Chaplain) on Sep 17, 2003 at 16:34 UTC
    Generally speaking, I vote less on the code in a node(rhyme), and more on the intent of the poster. Considering how many people go to Bulletin Boards and essentially ask other people to write their scripts for them, I think a person who has taken an honest shot and is asking a legitimate question does deserve a bit of credit.

    On a sidenote, I choose to refrain from the Great XP Debate. =)

    This is my cool %SIG

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