I've been trying to figure out how the up vote/down vote system works in this site. For example why is Why is this Samsung "RAM module" so slow? a bad post? I assumed that it's a bad post based on the fact that it has 4 vote down.
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3The community has improved the quality of the question significantlyRamhound– Ramhound2025-01-02 16:05:47 +00:00Commented Jan 2, 2025 at 16:05
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1It seems the current revision to isn’t being negatively received but the initial version definitely was, which is the reason, significant effort must be made on that initial submission.Ramhound– Ramhound2025-01-06 11:02:38 +00:00Commented Jan 6, 2025 at 11:02
5 Answers
In addition to the answer, a question of how to achieve maximum throughput using DDR chips or DIMM modules could on-topic for the Electrical Engineering stack. E.g. for asking in terms of a FPGA or embedded device interfacing to memory.
Check the edits - one standout feature of all versions is the random inline http link, which is characteristic of link-spammers.
Such posts exist merely to drive traffic to their sales link. TBC this posting isn't one of those, but carries all the hallmarks of a drive-by link-spammer trying to increase their clickthrough rate.
I feel like its a bit of being on the borderline the sort of question you shouldn't ask
You should only ask practical, answerable questions based on actual problems that you face. Chatty, open-ended questions diminish the usefulness of our site and push other questions off the front page.
Its deeply unlikely the average computer user is going to buy raw ram chips and use them. As a hobbyist PC builder, I work in a word of megatransfers, and clockspeeds and CL numbers. Its unlikely at the level we work at that we'd pick up a single ram chip for any reason, and need to worry about speeds there. Its not an actual problem - even if its not particularly subjective.
The original question had some minor spelling and grammar issues, but the root problem was that the original question failed on many levels to meet the requirements for questions on Superuser. Requirements laid out in the Help section, and shown several times via prompts and flyouts, to people asking questions for the first time here.
The original post contained no fewer than 4 question marks. Superuser requires posts have a single, specific question.
The original post asked us to explain not HOW, but WHY official documentation differed from real world behavior. "Why" questions are difficult or impossible to answer: People with answers on Superuser didn't engineer the hardware in question and don't have access to information people asking questions on Superuser don't have access to. "Why" questions are also not practical. It's not that the information is bad, somehow, but that you need deep discussions, nuance, broad exploration, and other things like that to get to the heart of a "why" question, and Superuser has chosen to focus on direct and practical questions that can be answered with authority and confidence. The original state of the question could not be.
The original post is clearly hiding a practical and real question behind the questions actually posed. This happens quite often, and most frequently from newcomers trying to ask what they perceive as a "more intelligent" question, or in an attempt to understand the "why" dealt with above. A good question doesn't try to be more than it is, we all of us, everyone, get stumped by things that are simple to someone else, and that's what we hope to do on Superuser: connect those stumped with those who have the necessary knowledge and experience so everyone is better off. The best questions present the direct and practical need, and give enough information that those reading them understand the efforts OP has made, the research they've done and the things they've tried in their own attempts to solve the problem.
These were some of the factors I considered when I down voted the question.
I think it's a good question but the original formatting before the community edits was bad. I'd recommend using a spell and grammar checker.
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1Another helpful proofreading trick is to read it back to yourself before hitting post cos if the text comes across as flow of mind then it doesn't work as well as if it was structured into sentances with a start middle and end and punctuation. <---- (that example was a challenge to write)Criggie– Criggie2025-01-04 21:41:12 +00:00Commented Jan 4, 2025 at 21:41
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The problems weren't formatting. It is a simple question without any real formatting needs besides punctuation. The problems were more severe and inherent to the topic of and ideas behind the post. OP made a concerted effort to resolve these deficiencies, but the formatting hasn't really changed.music2myear– music2myear2025-01-06 15:08:09 +00:00Commented Jan 6, 2025 at 15:08