Should there be a requirement or expectation that answers respect a DIY POV?

Question

Many questions on this SE are posted by hobbyists and DIYers and newer users who may be looking for a quick fix, and not interested in more detail.

I had some push back on a particular answer where I provided a more industrial approach that I believe was appropriate due to the safety implications of the question (it can be found here).

Should there be a requirement or expectation, that answers respect a "DIY" or amateur point of view?

My approach thus far at RPI.SE is to always provide the correct way of doing something, even if it is beyond what OP is asking for in terms of technical detail and difficulty.

Answer 1

Most of the users asking questions on the site are going to be hobbyists who just want a quick and simple solution. The reality is, from my personal experience, we don't get too many questions about industrial applications.

However, there is nothing wrong with providing an answer focused towards an industrial application, but you need to keep in mind who you are primarily providing a solution to. In the case of the question you answered here it's not clear if the Pi was to be used in an industrial application or not. As a general rule of thumb most questions are not being asked in relation to some kind of industrial application.

The answer you have provided is well detailed and clearly written but it could be considered "overkill" in terms of the solution the OP might have been looking for. This is why your answer received negative feedback. Although I'm glad you took the time to outline the safety risks involved with the other answers. But please don't start a flame war in the comments section with another user, its not useful to anyone looking at your answer.

As a final point the question you answered was lacking in detail anyway which always makes it harder to answer. Before diving into answering such a question it might be useful to use the comments section to get some more information out of the OP.

Answer 2

I thought that objective answers was preferred over opinion based.

And from my opinion I agree that the OP didn't ask for a "DIY" or "Industrial design". I was thinking about elaborating on the safety concerns myself.

As the question was asked I just present a short answer with details that covers the basics and then can a discussion start with OP about a more detailed solution. As in guiding the OP to a more detailed solution.

To present the OP with a "Industrial design" and to state that all other answers are wrong has the wrong focus as in, my opinion is the right and others are wrong, when the OP's solution should be in focus!

Answer 3

I looked at the question, but refrained from Comment or Answer.

The question was too vague, and should really be closed - however it already had "answers".

In fact, while some of these answers/discussion may have been relevant (at least to a competent engineer) there was only one appropriate answer - what you are proposing is dangerous, and illegal (in most countries).

Also, as a professional engineer, providing an answer would be in breach of professional ethics, and possibly a failure to exercise "duty of care".

I would be tempted to add a comment, that anyone who HAS to ask questions like that obviously doesn't have the training/expertise to implement the solutions.

In short I do not believe what you posted was helpful - it wasn't relevant to the Pi.

In fact NONE of the "answers" was about the Pi.