Sam asked: What do you feel should be done with homework questions?
Ward answered: If they're reasonable, fine. But if it's a totally contrived situation, then close as OT (not by a pro sysadmin).
Bart De Vos answered: Chopper had a great idea with apprentices. I think we should peruse this and help students out. Mind you, we're not gong to make their homework for them.
ErikA answered: If they're well-asked and there's evidence that the OP put some thought and effort in, then leave it open and help the person along.
WesleyDavid answered: Simple note saying that we don't do homework questions, but do hope they come along well in their education. Perhaps a token link to a search term or a canonical answer.
pauska answered: I'm a bit 50/50 on that subject. I personally think that students should be reading books/lab'ing/researching to learn how stuff works, not just ask questions here to get a quick answer. But I also realize that we always want more users on the site.. It's a tough one.
Ben Pilbrow answered: Just because someone is doing homework, it doesn't mean their question is invalid. I've certainly had some questions when reading through Microsoft books and I do this every day. Someone who's studying to do this every day might need some coaching, and provided they've proved they've done some research I'll help them out. If I don't think they deserve it, I'll not answer it, but no closing is necessary
MDMarra answered: Closed as off-topic if it's "OMG DO MY HW". If it's well-researched and applicable to the community as written, I might edit out the part where the OP says it's homework.
voretaq7 answered: Homework questions with applicability in the professional environment may stay. "Do my homework for me" questions must go.
For me this isn't a server fault thing, it's an academic honesty one. The point of homework is to learn the material. If all you learned is "Ask on ServerFault and some kind sysadmin will spoon feed it to me!" you're not preparing yourself for the real world.
As much as I like saying you don't have to know everything if you know where to look/ask, there really is some core knowledge you need to internalize.
Iain answered: If they are obviously homework questions they don't belong
freiheit answered: Homework questions are by definition not coming from "people who manage or maintain computers in a professional capacity", making them already borderline off-topic. But if it's an on-topic question, it's fine. Preferably making it clear that it's homework.
