OSWeekends - The Art of Asking

We started this year with a very special talk. After making a couple of fixes to the OSWeekends web agenda, they invited me to give a mini talk.

Whenever they offer me something like this without much context, I get that first doubt… What do I talk about? It stresses me a bit to think that I might say something that people already know (and possibly better than me) and that has already been repeated, so I avoided talking about technological topics to focus more on the socio-technical side of development.

Watch the Talk

You can watch the full talk on YouTube (my talk starts at 13:45)

Note: The talk is in Spanish. The content below provides an English summary of what was covered.

The Topic: Questions and Community

In this little talk I wanted to share my point of view on the world of questions and Stack Overflow, and how over the years we have learned to avoid asking questions and have even become ashamed of doing so.

Why This Matters

The ability to ask good questions is fundamental in software development, yet many developers struggle with:

• Impostor syndrome when facing something they don’t understand
• Fear of judgment from the community
• Assumption that everyone already knows what they’re trying to learn
• Shame around not knowing something that seems “basic”

Building a Healthier Community

I really enjoy talking about things that everyone can understand and that help create a healthier development community. Some key points from the talk:

• Questions are not a sign of weakness - they’re a sign of growth
• Everyone was a beginner once - we need to remember our own journey
• Good questions help others - your question might help someone else facing the same issue
• Community thrives on knowledge sharing - questions are part of that ecosystem

The Stack Overflow Phenomenon

Stack Overflow has become both a blessing and a curse:

• Blessing: Incredible repository of knowledge and solutions
• Curse: Can create intimidation and fear around asking “simple” questions

The key is learning how to ask questions effectively and contributing back to the community in meaningful ways.

Key Takeaways

1. Ask questions freely - Don’t let fear hold back your learning
2. Be kind to newcomers - We all started somewhere
3. Value the learning process - Questions are part of the journey
4. Build inclusive communities - Make space for all levels of expertise

Acknowledgments

Huge thanks to @baumannzone for the invitation and to the entire OSWeekends organization for providing this space to share ideas and build community!

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This talk was part of my ongoing effort to address the human side of software development, focusing on creating more inclusive and supportive developer communities.