Do we need a JavaScriptHelp subreddit?
Seems like almost every post in this subreddit is about very basic help questions regarding someone's blog site or bootcamp homework project.
I can't be the only subscriber here who doesn't want to see this. I'm here for JavaScript news, cool libraries, new developments, etc. This subreddit isn't StackOverflow. Am I wrong? If so, please point me to the right subreddit.
64 comments · 89% upvoted · other discussions
There's already /r/learnjavascript which seems like it might fit the bill?
gunther-centralperk [OP] 57 points · Aug 2017 · Node.js Core Contributor
So if these resources exist, why don't the /r/JavaScript mods require all help topics to be posted there?
[deleted] 38 points · Aug 2017
[deleted]
kenman 17 points · Aug 2017
You don't want to see what it would look like if I removed the 189 domains from the banned list...
Isvara 5 points · Aug 2017
I'd rather just see the 189 domains. What are they?
[deleted] 5 points · Aug 2017
Maybe out of curiosity.
DanielFGray 2 points · Sep 2017
Is that list publicly accessible?
kenman 12 points · Aug 2017
Because it's a crapton of work and reddit's moderation tools suck. If it was as simple as saying, "make it so", it'd probably be done already. It's also easy to volunteer someone else's time without consideration into how much effort would really be required; in other words, I wish I could just say "you're free to open a PR if you want it that bad" ;) Nothing against you though, this is a conversation that needs to be had I think.
http://redditmetrics.com/r/javascript
Since I came on as mod (3/2014), we've gone from 43k to 123k subs; yes, we've almost tripled in size in over 3 years! That's pretty astounding. I'm not trying to claim responsibility for the increase -- that's almost purely the result of reddit + JS's emerging popularity. And with that, moderation duties have increased probably more than 3x's, as we now attract quite a bit more attention from bonafide spammers (blog spam, etc.) and spam-like behaviors (excessive self-promotion, etc.).
There have always been a vocal [what-I-assumed-were-a] minority complaining about help posts, and I personally think that most of the help posts should be on SO (a platform created explicitly for such), but when I came on the status quo was that help posts were OK, and were recognized as a part of the fabric of /r/javascript.
One of the challenges in dealing with these posts lies in the fact that not all help questions were created equal; some are really interesting, even for a seasoned developer, so there's some editorial discretion that has to be applied.
If you can just look at a post and say, "that's a help post!" and then action it that's one thing; but, if one has to grok the question then make a judgement call about whether or not it belongs, then that can really consume some time. Some of the questions that I've reviewed and thought meh but allowed, have gone on to have 50+ replies. With that said, I think a majority of questions could easily be actioned without much thought, I'm just nervous about over-actioning and killing some of the spirit of the sub.
So, perhaps it's time for the subreddit to re-evaluate itself? We've evolved a lot over the past 3 years, and maybe the mod philosophy needs to adjust to the current needs and wants of the sub.
p0tent1al 8 points · Aug 2017
He just ethered all of you with a single sentence. Well done /u/kenman
The problem with a lot of help posts, is most of them are completely subjective. What framework should I be using? What's the best way to approach this? Stackoverflow in general doesn't encourage those kinds of questions and they will often lock those questions because of it.
AndrewGreenh 1 points · Aug 2017
Sorry for being off topic, but could you explain what "ethered" means? I could not find it on dict.cc
pier25 3 points · Aug 2017
IMHO opinion /r/javascript should be a place about the language (news, discussions, etc) even if that means less activity in the sub.
Help posts, tutorials, etc, should go to /r/learnjavascript . It's true that some help posts might be interesting to even seasoned pros, but since it's very difficult to discern which ones I'd say it's much easier to simply move those related to learning there.
My 2 cents.
TheNiXXeD 2 points · Aug 2017
For what it's worth, I really appreciate the attitude you're giving this topic. So many other subs handle it worse.
I'm curious how the sub as a whole responds.
rasafrasit 31 points · Aug 2017
Good fucking question!
elr0nd_hubbard 4 points · Aug 2017
I'd be game to go the /r/goodyearwelt or /r/elm route with a Simple Questions or Beginners Only thread posted weekly.
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p0tent1al 10 points · Aug 2017
This isn't feasible. Even big subreddits like /r/apple allow newbies to make comments. I personally don't come here just to hear about new libraries and updates to existing ones... if anything, if all you want to hear about is stuff like that, then there's probably a better place for you.
A normal Javascript developer probably shouldn't be wanting to hear about new packages and new ways to do stuff constantly. You pick paradigms and then you buckle down and stick to them. So you're most likely the outlier.
The mods could institute more aggressive tagging of topics so people can sort, but that's a lot of effort on mods to enforce rules like that. Some subreddits have the manpower to get it done, who knows if /r/javascript does, is even wiling, or if it's even necessary.
[deleted] 10 points · Aug 2017
dude are you even in 2017
p0tent1al 2 points · Aug 2017
Here's the idea. Once you settle on something like React... do you really need to be hearing about the hundred other view libraries? Most people should choose 1 and be doing damage with it. The idea of these packages isn't to be changing to new ones every 6 seconds. At some point you pull the trigger, and then you do ACTUAL work.
Brillegeit 8 points · Aug 2017
dude are you even in 2017
[deleted] 5 points · Aug 2017
I get what you are saying and my comment was a little tongue-in-cheek. But it does seem like the technology that I using project-to-project is changing. As the projects that I work on usually run for about 6 months it's not unlikely that our team will use something for 2 projects and then move onto something else, as is the case with Angular, React, npm, bower etc.
I don't think of these things as anything other than Javascript, however. I think people get too attached to a framework and forget the language underneath, sometimes.
TheNiXXeD 1 points · Aug 2017
Without getting too subjective on that topic. These are all tools. Sometimes adding a tool to your belt is good. Sometimes a job allows you to stick with the same tools for years. Sometimes a job affords the extra overhead of you learning and playing with stuff. Sometimes that's due to lots of projects starting up frequently, or lots of extra time to refactor. But as you mention, sometimes people don't make the correct decisions for their environment either.
It's hardly for us, or the mods to decide whether or not those tools should be discussed, given that they are quite on topic.
[deleted] 11 points · Aug 2017
/r/programming and /r/java both do this so I don't buy the argument that it's not feasible.
If you know of a news aggregator like this, I'd love to hear it.
Wow, if that's your attitude then good luck, but it's kind of ridiculous to say that JS programmers don't want to learn about what's on the horizon or what's big in the community right now.
tswaters 3 points · Aug 2017
Honestly I don't think the mods have the manpower currently to do aggressive tagging/etc of posts.
Look at the mods - you've got jeresig (creator of jQuery) who hasn't been active on reddis in a year, honestbleeps (of RES fame) who is probably busy with RES 90% of his time on reddit, and kenman who does all the work.
The mod team would need to be expanded quite heavily to make this work.
kenman 2 points · Aug 2017
This is something I've been mulling over for the past half-year or so, and we probably could stand to pick-up 1-2 more active mods. I will need to create some type of application and run it by /u/honestbleeps first, though.
TheNiXXeD 2 points · Aug 2017
What sort of time investment is being an active mod? Are there less-active mods as well?
kenman 1 points · Aug 2017
Typically 5-15 mins a day, but often broken up into 1-2 minute chunks dealing with items as they come into the mod queue. For Sunday, I spent 30-45 mins in writing replies and whatnot in the thread, which happens from time-to-time. There's also times when there's a high-profile and/or controversial post, which often requires 45 mins or more per day for a few days.
jarail 3 points · Aug 2017
I absolutely love the Web Development Reading List (WDRL) newsletter. The guy (Anselm Hannemann) puts it out about once a week. When I'm really on-the-ball reading everything on my coding subreddits, hacker news, github, etc, the newsletter is a nice recap. He honestly doesn't miss much noteworthy stuff.
Latest issue is 195 but doesn't have a big JavaScript section. Check last week's 194 for a better example of JavaScript news. You can read online or sub for email delivery (I do).
p0tent1al 1 points · Aug 2017
Straw man.
What I'm saying is this. Truly productive developers don't adopt new frameworks every week, or every month even. Sure we want to hear about new tools, new editors, but if you're switching your editors every month, switching your frameworks, updating your packages every month, you're most likely not spending enough time on the work itself. The point of these packages and editors is to facilitate WORK. So the same sentiments are echo'd right back to you: good luck if that's your attitude.
Thought_Ninja 2 points · Aug 2017 · human build tool
I think you probably both are on the same side of this argument. Exploring is not deploying.
[deleted] 2 points · Aug 2017
My point was that it's a bad argument to determine what should be in a subreddit, since as you say js devs want to hear about these things. Obviously real devs don't switch workflows every month, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try and encourage that type of content in /r/javascript.
p0tent1al 1 points · Aug 2017
I'm merely making a devils advocate argument. I personally like hearing about that stuff but what I'm saying is, if we're going to sit here and say "well this doesn't belong" then I'm going to identify the majority of the user base and it's preference. I'd say most of that is people trying to learn, fix bugs, and problem solve. That's what all these libraries are for anyway.
lhorie 1 points · Aug 2017
Thought experiment: if you don't like that the r/javascript community's posting patterns isn't focused on curated articles, then why not just leave and use another resource that is focused on curating articles? (e.g. javascript weekly)
Or maybe cross post from those resources here to help set a tone here.
I feel like modding newbie questions is not going to be effective from a perspective of effort-to-gains ratio if a large number of people asking these questions are, well, newbies who might not know the etiquette of the sub.