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Comments on Are reference requests welcome here?
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Are reference requests welcome here?
On that other site that shall not be named, reference request questions are outlawed as "asking for an off-site resource".
What do you guys think about such questions? Should they be welcome here? Any specific things to keep in mind when asking such questions?
Post
Consider the following posts which have essentially become canonical references in their own right within their respective communities on SE:
- The Definitive C++ Book Guide and List (viewed 2.5 million times)
- The Definitive C Book Guide and List (viewed 451 thousand times)
- The definitive guide to ConTeXt MkIV documentation
The mere existence of such posts on a Q&A site is not without controversy, however. These gather subjective responses, and could be hijacked by spammers seeking to promote their books, courses, videos, podcasts, etc.
Some helpful reading while reflecting on this includes:
-
Q&A is Hard, Let’s Go Shopping!
- Notable quote: “when it comes to shopping questions, don’t ask us what you should buy — ask us what you need to learn to tell what you should buy.”
- The Future of Community Wiki
If this were to be implemented, I think it would be best as a separate category, perhaps named “Resources.”
On the flip side, there are already a lot of great resources for software developers out there, such as the awesome lists which cover a myriad of languages and topics.
Some questions to ponder:
- Would such posts require a single wiki-based response or would multiple posts be allowed?
- If multiple posts, is voting still a good tool for distinguishing between posts?
- What are strategies to prevent such posts being hijacked by spammers?
- Do we currently allow targeted questions asking for a (albeit subjective) review of a specific resource (e.g., is Accelerated C++ still a good book to learn the basics of C++ from or is too outdated and should now be avoided?)?
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