Don't ask for your homework.

Hackers are very good at telling which problems are homework style problems; as most of us have solved these types of problems ourselves. Again, these problems have to be taken care of by you and you will learn from it. You can ask for a few hints, but don't ask for a complete solution.

The purpose of homework is for you to practice

Homework-style problems are not limited to schoolwork. Any question that essentially requires you to practice to master a concept, complete a reasoning, or write an implementation falls into this category. For someone to give you the complete answer straight away only robs you of the learning process.

It's okay to ask:

• Am I understanding the question correctly?
• Am I clearly mistaken in this line of thinking being stuck at a certain step?
• What part of the concept should I review?

Don't ask:

• Can someone just give me the full code?
• Send me the answer.
• It's due tomorrow. Help me finish it.

Go to the more appropriate newbie channel

If you suspect you've run into a homework-type problem and still can't solve it, try asking a question in a user group, forum or (as a last resort) on the project's Users mailing list or forum. Although hackers will see it coming, some experienced users may still be able to give you some tips.

Even there, show what you've already tried. Asking for hints and asking to do it for you are two completely different things.