My idea: When a person first signs up here, for the first 3-4 messages they create (not reply to) they should be sent a PM which includes this information, or something like it.
Would this help things along? Some people may not have coded before and so don’t know to not use a screenshot, or to format their code to be in a fixed font.
Help us help you. Read this link first and learn how to format code so we can help you better. Do not use a screen shot of your code as some of us will copy and paste the code to get it to work for you, so you can learn from this. About the Python Help category You will get more help this way.
Also be sure to include this information in every new post you make, if you have a code problem.
Your OS name and version.
Which Python, Colab, Jupyter, Pyscript you are using and it’s version.
If you are using a development environment. This is normally required except perhaps while taking a Python class.
Your IDE name and version like Pycharm or Visual Studio Code. VSC sometimes has addons that can help you.
I’m not sure how useful it would be to send the PM only after a new post is made. By then the damage is already done, so to speak. Perhaps every new user should receive such a PM when they first create their account (if that isn’t already the case?). But even then, I am pessimistic about how much it would help.
I disagree that this information should be included with every post. It’s relevant for a certain type of issues, primarily those related to installation of Python itself or various packages. For questions about code, on the other hand, this information would add unnecessary noise.
This assumes that everyone arrives here looking for help with some problem they have. While a lot of people do, I certainly hope that not everyone does - we like to see people here just to talk about Python, or coming because they think they can help others, or basically for any reason at all.
I would be very sad if this site came to be seen as nothing more than somewhere you could come to get help with your Python problems.
this site already has a chat bot that should teach people about how to format, so that kind of information is redundant (or at least, another automated system will not make them learn it)
stackoverflow, a site with way more rigid rules about what is allowed to be posted and that has automated systems to detect e.g. code posted as images doesn’t manage to significantly decrease the number of “invalid” questions being asked.
What might be helpful is to reduce the “curators”, i.e. our, workload by providing a list of canned comment snippets that just have to be assembled on demand based on what issues the post actually has.