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[META] Is the Quality of Unity Answers being worked on?
I started actually using Unity Answers only about a month ago, and Unity around 6 moths ago. I've been programming for years. I absolutely love helping people figure out complex tasks and finding elegant solutions. I came to Unity Answers thinking that I would be able to do this. I was very wrong. In my time here I've discovered a few major problems with Unity Answers:
99% of the questions I could find with the most simple Google search. It absolutely baffles me that people have the ability to download and install unity, manage to start the creation of a game, create an account on unity answers, and not be able to do a Google search on how to move an object. I don't get it and I never will.
People create accounts, ask questions, look at the answers, and never come back. They don't accept answers, or even acknowledge that your answer has worked. For me, this is less about reputation and more that I just want to know that I was able to help them solve their problem.
The amount of good programmers out there to contribute and help the community is very low. I know they are out there, but I haven't seen many around. It makes me happy to see flocks of very experienced programmers ready to jump on a question without hesitation.
Slap me silly for this not being a coding question, but I don't care. This is a very important question to me, and it is Unity related.
My Question(s): Is anyone working on improving the quality of Unity Answers, or is there somewhere I can go where people are asking serious questions?
The only other quality place I can think of is http://gamedev.stackexchange.com/
... which is part of the same network as SO.
Discouraging you is the last thing I want, but still, I can't help but comment that this is the 3rd or 4th time I've seen a question like yours asked. ;) That's because it's a damnably good question, but the definite answer remains an unfortunate "no". The quality of the site is not being worked on. Unity Answers constitutes an avalanche of mixed questions, many of dubious quality. It is in dire need of some filtering, even if it's just rudimentary categorization, e.g. grouping questions into "Animation", "Shading", "GUI", "Networking", and so on, and then, obviously, grouping into skill level categories, too: "Beginners", "Trained", "Experts". But it seems unclear whether something will ever be done about this, and it's been either scaring what few experts we do have away, or simply drowning out their input. I myself don't find it as rewarding to post here as I used to, and my frequency of posting has dramatically dropped.
I'd like you to view this from a different angle: Ins$$anonymous$$d of feeling put down that the quality of questions here is so dishearteningly poor, perhaps we should take it as a sign that Unity attracts an impressive number of rookie developers who're raised to expect immediate results with $$anonymous$$imal work. You know what that means?
It means that if you're one of those people who can actually write good, quality code, then there's a large customer base just waiting to buy that Asset of yours that you're working on. ;)
Agreed, I was just starting to get fed up with the amount of ridiculous questions.
It is sad that there aren't many working on it, as I feel it could still be maintained. When I do see a good question it makes me happy, but compared to the way people said it used to be it is very upsetting.
I really like your point of view though. $$anonymous$$aking Assets is something I started getting into a while ago, but never decided to actually put anything on the asset store. It seems that's what all the experienced Unity programmers are doing these days.
Your input means a lot. Thank you!
I do get your point meat500; however if we were to split hairs, Grahams thread is a very subjective question that ultimately has no answer as it is depending on the viewpoint of each member. It has turned into a typical discussion on the quality of UA, but ultimately the question has no definitive purpose other than to raise awareness of fatties SO post. Nothing will come of it. And with the unfortunate majority rule, all new users are get to keep posting duplicate questions because there is no definitive guideline on what a suitable question is, and no solidarity among moderators. On top of that, people like me get hatefilled comments and P$$anonymous$$s. However, this question clearly asks What is being done?. It recognizes that there has been a lot of user input about the quality of UA, and wants to know what action is being taken towards making UA closer to the original vision, and to also make it possible for experienced people to come back and start answering question of a high technical nature, not the everyday humdrum.
$$anonymous$$aybe its because I have empathy with the statements made by the OP; maybe its because I like writing massively long comments on this topic; maybe its because I'm completely fed up with the fact that once upon a time UA used to be filled with complex questions and elegant solutions to learn and develop from, but now is not; but its probably because I'm totally sick of the fact that with all the discussion, nothing changes, and UA is dead. So, like the question being asked in this thread, I want to know 'where can I go?'
That problem exists because most users downloaded it expecting to be a serious developer in 1 month or less. Obviously most people who ask stupid questions is because they have no experience in the gaming world, moving an object is easiest thing ever. All you have to do is this: find the game object and move its transform position, still I didn't even have to use Google for that. I can even rotate them without even have to Google. People just don't get how to use unity script and if they even bothered with experimenting instead of asking silly questions maybe they'd solve their own problems. If you want a complex question I have one for you :/ just a suggestion. Also don't leave this website if your as experienced as you say you are, you'll probably the only one that could help me.
$$anonymous$$oving an objects position was just an example, I wasn't being literal. Also, I don't care that someone had to search Google to do something like that: everyone has to when they first start. But posting a question like that on a forum when there is well written documentation makes no sense.
Also for me to help: That's IF I am ever able to help. People hardly give feedback on your answers now, so the chances of that happening any time soon are slim.
The fact you started this QA shows you care. That's half the battle. I look forward to seeing your continued input to this site!
And new users, quite reasonably, don't know the difference between general 3D graphics/game/program$$anonymous$$g, and Unity3d specific Qs. They don't know that changing tiling on the sides of a box has nothing to do with Unity.
When Unity started, you could assume anyone looking at gameEngines did know general game stuff. But now, a bright 15-year-old could easily hear that Unity, for free, will let you make a game for your cell-phone. Where would they find out "stuff all game designers know, so you don't clutter UA."
Yes, there's sometimes a fine line between Unity Questions and Teach-me-how to-program questions.
There are serious questions being asked around here that are buried under the inevitable amount of fluff. And I have seen several experienced coders helping tirelessly on an almost-daily basis. If you truly love to help others, then you can make Unity Answers a better place by helping to the best of your ability, regardless of the perceived seriousness of the questions. And also, when your karma reaches a certain level, you can close questions as you see fit.
Remember:
"You must be the change you want to see in Unity Answers.”
-Mahatma 'Unity' Gandhi
I agree with the fluff. But if there are several experienced coders helping tirelessly, why are these "fluff" questions not being closed? I'm guessing that the amount of people who are asking ridiculous questions compared to the amount of serious coders has now reached a point of no return.
Its due to the fact that Beginners are encouraged to ask questions. Beginners form a large part of Unity's business model, I imagine.
No offense, but even this question is fluff as it is:
A) A duplicate Question
b) Too Subjective and Argumentative
and if you had done your research you will have found the several versions of this that have been posed before.
So you see the UA dilemma.
Here's one. It's actually packed with the opinions of experienced coders.
Edit: No I'm not talking about me :D
Actually, I've read the question, the answers, and every single comment on the link you posted, but I didn't see anything specific about my question. I asked for, assu$$anonymous$$g personal experience, options on what places might be better for answering questions other than Unity Answers, and if there were anyone working on Unity Answers. I'll admit I was hesitant to post this question because of (B), but to me it seemed a very good question.
It's good to get input from experienced board members though, thank you.
It is a good question, however it has been covered, but under different titles.
The one I posted was actually posed by Graham Dunnett who works for Unity. If there anywhere to voice your concern, it's in that QA. So in that case, yes it is being worked on, by at least 1 whole integer person :)
I linked this QA in that thread to increase the chance of it being seen by Graham and other H$$anonymous$$'s. It's ironic that I felt I had to close this particular QA to maintain quality :D
So, apologies. Consequently, posting this on the forum rather that UA may help it get the attention and discussion it requires.
In a certain sense, fewer interesting questions means that UA is working. All the good questions have been answered. So, everyday lots of people have good questions. But most google and find the answer, here on UA. And that's great. Better than having to type something and wait a day.
When the recent 2D system came out, there were piles of Q's about it. Same with mechanon(?) Now a lot fewer, I assume since googling now gives good results.
$$anonymous$$ecanim :)
Good point dude! Thats a great way of looking at it.
I think you have a very valid point Owen. $$anonymous$$any times I have found an answer to a complicated question fairly quickly (sure maybe have to dig through a few pages). Stack Overflow is having the same perceived issues as UA apparently, but I never have problems finding my complex questions (or really simple ones) on Android answered on there (and I search all day every day) to the point that I never have to ask a question, but the high ranking people answering questions on there are fed up nonetheless. I point this out, because my role in searching for answers all day every day over there is much like the newbies searching in Unity. There might be a lot more than we think getting answers without having to every ask a question. Granted there are still people asking before searching, but I think it's because they literally don't know what to ask for.
I think there is still room for improvement in categorization and getting people to mark questions answered, because the main thing I see right now is the people answering the questions probably just want to be challenged and are sick of seeing the simple repetitive questions, though they are easy to answer in many cases and actually do help someone out (though I still get infuriated if it's a "convert my code" or "write it for me" question). :)
Meta questions are getting just as regular as how to access script on another objects. It also makes me feel like it is a good way to grab some extra karma without really bringing anything new. Those questions always get some 10+ upvotes for the sake of being meta.
We get it UA is not perfect. How about directly contacting Unity to know what they have to say?
I'm sorry, but I'm really not in this for the karma. I'm here to help people, and learn Unity on the way as an aspiring video game programmer. In fact, I didn't even mark this as being meta. I wanted to address a serious issue, and ask if there were somewhere I could go where I could really put my brain to work.
As for directly contacting unity: That is a good idea, and I believe I will take you up on that.
Thank you.
I marked it as $$anonymous$$eta, as it is :)
@fafase, I closed it once, respectfully, but alucardj reopened it stating that he also would like some follow-ups to the question, the main one being "Where else is there to go?". It's all above in the comments.
I'm certainly not complaining about his decision. The simple dialogue and events surrounding this thread alone are a good indication of the state of being of UA.
We don't have authority; we have reason, understanding and compromise :)
@1) Just because you can find it, it doesn't mean they can find it. I think you got a programmer perspective of that one. I would never have the same attitude if you came to me and asked about the danish language. I wouldn't go: "Go to the library, it's there. Use Google it's all on the net." If 99% of it was on the net, we should just remove answers and the forum from this site, right? ;)
@2) That's just disrespectful. I think people wait for the questioner to come back and tell if it worked or not, just as the questioner expects someone to help them out. A "thank you" does wonders. Also hey, if they did come back and tell, maybe it could help someone else with their problems. (like me...) BUT it could also mean that it didn't work and people are trying their best to fix it somehow...the question is how long did you wait for them to come back?
@3) I get happy too when 2-3 programmers answers my questions in different ways so that I can see the possibilities of doing the same problem in different ways. I get to think in different ways.
You also have to remember that some people ask questions in 4-5 different places and go with the first place which answers their question and forget about the rest of the places they asked. (Yes, I agree. It's totally low of them to do that. At least tell the others that you got the answer and what it was. It may help someone else.)
You also have to remember that some people are from the mememe-generation. They think it's their right that you answer their questions, not that they are lucky that someone even wanted to try to help them out.
You also have to remember that you are an experienced programmer compared to many people in the world. So you find a lot of things to be damn easy and something everyone can find/do easily without needing help. Most of the people using Unity do not.
My answer to the second question: "people are asking serious questions" Wow...I kind of feel offended that you find my questions to be not serious. I don't know about the rest of the people but I try to be quite serious when I ask. I ask about people about stuff I couldn't do myself after trying for hours, couldn't find it on google and no tutorials showing it here. What are "serious questions" in your opinion? I bet the answer is biased and affected by your programming and stackoverflow experience. (although you find stupid questions on stackoverflow too)
Remember most of unity users who use the forum and answers are not only new to unity but also to programming, and as all beginners, they do ask stupid questions. ;)
Oh, before I go. I agree there should be a mod who should warn people a few times on asking stuff that covered on the site. Question like: What is GameObject? Give them a few warnings and if they don't get then delete their account, although they can just make new ones again. OR people could just ignore their questions. I guess the last option would make them leave automatically. No answers, no need to keep asking, no need to be here. Automatically cleanup ;)
I agree with you but only to an extent. I$$anonymous$$HO, it is harder to post your question word for word on Unity Answers, than searching your problem with Google. An example:
How do I make a game object move from one point to another?
Answer - Search Google: How do I make a game object move from one point to another? Unity
There are SO many results on the exact same problem. I understand the question being asked once. But why again? And again?
$$anonymous$$y adivice: Before you post, take your question, add the word Unity to the end of it, and search it on Google. I guarentee it can be found the majority of the time.
I didn't mean to offend anyone, and I'm sorry if I did.
Thank you
