The ethics of assistance
Webpigeon (Joseph)
Most of the people on the list have had at least some experience with
people asking them for help. Be it with some software problem or with
a programming problem. People who are currently doing computer science
courses will no doubt be familiar with this.
The questions I pose to you is this... When does helping people do
more harm than good? Where (if anywhere) should the line be drawn for
assistance in an academic (graded) environment? Should the same rules
apply more generally to any problem (outside of a graded environment)?
Is it possible to tell those who want help and those who are just lazy/
can't be bothered apart?
In my opinion, by giving too much help (in some cases basically giving
a complete solution) the person your helping doesn't actually learn
anything. The proverb "Give a man a fish they eat for a day, teach a
man to fish and they eat for a lifetime" comes to mind. If the work
which is submitted is based on the solution you provided they are
basically getting marks for your work, it also suggests that they are
capable of doing the work when they cannot.
On the other hand, it's not fair to say that everyone that asks can't
be bothered to attempt to look for a solution. The number of times
I've written code, and spent hours looking though it, only to have
someone walk in and point out a stupid error that I've not seen is far
to many to count :P. Sometimes what you need is a fresh pair of eyes.
I'd be really interested in seeing what other people think, and
getting a discussion going about it.
Joseph.