I’ve noticed at least once that I’ve downvoted a newcomer’s post for no other reason than it is so vague or incomprehensible that I’m not even sure what it is about. I’m not sure how to go about writing comments that are useful or helpful and go beyond “This is all really abstract and I’m not sure what you’re trying to express” or “This is so confusing I don’t even know what the topic was meant to be”. I don’t know if that helps anybody, because it’s not even giving them a flaw that they can meditate on.
What’s a better way of addressing that confusion?
The only alternative I can think of is guessing what the author meant, even if it’s wrong, and hoping that you can Cunningham’s Law[1] them into correcting you in a way which is clear enough to understand.
When I write, I am constantly balancing brevity (and aesthetics generally) with clarity. Unfortunately, I sometimes gravely fail at achieving the latter without me noticing. Your above comment immediately informs me of this mistake.
I was just thinking that anything is better than nothing. If I received the feedback you mentioned on some of my early downvoted posts, I’d have been less confused than I was.
I’ve noticed at least once that I’ve downvoted a newcomer’s post for no other reason than it is so vague or incomprehensible that I’m not even sure what it is about. I’m not sure how to go about writing comments that are useful or helpful and go beyond “This is all really abstract and I’m not sure what you’re trying to express” or “This is so confusing I don’t even know what the topic was meant to be”. I don’t know if that helps anybody, because it’s not even giving them a flaw that they can meditate on.
What’s a better way of addressing that confusion?
The only alternative I can think of is guessing what the author meant, even if it’s wrong, and hoping that you can Cunningham’s Law[1] them into correcting you in a way which is clear enough to understand.
The joke that the best way to get the right answer on the internet is by offering the wrong answer
The comments you mention are helpful to the author. Any hints are helpful.
Can you elaborate on why you think such vague feedback is helpful?
I think I can!
When I write, I am constantly balancing brevity (and aesthetics generally) with clarity. Unfortunately, I sometimes gravely fail at achieving the latter without me noticing. Your above comment immediately informs me of this mistake.
I was just thinking that anything is better than nothing. If I received the feedback you mentioned on some of my early downvoted posts, I’d have been less confused than I was.