Can I ask for help to develop a solution in this site?

Question

I asked a question some time ago and I got no answers to it. I was googling for some solution that fits my needs, but I didn't find anything.

Now, I decided to try to develop my own extension. Can I use this site to get help?

I mean, I will create a repository in Github (for example). Can I edit my question and put the link to it or is this spam? Maybe a comment?

I'm using my question as example, but I'd like to know it in a general way. Is there any guidance for these cases here in SoftwaRecs?

I found this similar question, but it's not the same case. In my example, the OP decides to develop a solution and is looking for help (collaborative or even paid). What's the best way to proceed?

Answer 1

This entirely depends on the kind of help your asking for, naturally:

• it is OK to ask for libraries, frameworks etc.
• asking for algorithms is not
• given the correct phrasing, you can ask for programming tools
• it's not OK to ask for assets (data, media, icons etc.)
• neither is asking for manuals, howtos, tutorials, best approaches
• asking for APIs might be OK or not, depends on
• looking for personnel is not fitting here either – for that there's Carriers :)

Answer 2

As soon as your tool meets the requirements given in your question, you may post it as an answer (don’t forget to disclose your affiliation). You should not directly ask for help, but you may note that the project welcomes feature/pull requests, as this is relevant information, and it can be an advantage over other solutions.

If your tool is not yet meeting the requirements, I think there’s nothing wrong with posting a comment to your question, e.g.:

As there doesn’t seem to exist a solution, I started a project to develop it.

Such a comment (which is not really different from similar status updates, like "I’m currently trying out tool X" or "Found out about tool Y, will look into it") can be relevant information, e.g. because people that also need this solution might be interested in checking it out, or because others who would have started their own project to offer a solution to the question might not have to.

The question should not be edited to include the link, as the question post is not the right place to note what you ended up with. However, if you list tools you already tried and point out why they are not possible solutions, I think there’s nothing wrong with listing your own tool (again, with affiliation disclosure) if it meets some but not all of the features (i.e., it’s more than just an idea).