[R] On Reproducible Code

[Bert Gunter]

********************
 PLEASE provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
Whenever possible, provide a small example that can be easily loaded
and run to illustrate your problem. The R function dput() should
generally be used to do this.

For a more complete discussion of how to post queries that will yield
accurate, helpful responses, refer to  the posting guide at
http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html.
*********************

I agree. Perhaps slightly modifying the message and moving it to the
top as I have done here (please feel free to edit as appropriate)
would be useful. This might have the psychological advantage of making
it painfuly obvious to OP's and readers when they have not followed
the recommendations.

Might be worth a try and seems like something that would be easy to do.

Cheers,
Bert

On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 8:50 AM, David L Carlson <dcarlson at tamu.edu> wrote:
> We often refer requesters to the Posting Guide and chide them for not
> reading it. Recently I had occasion to re-read the Posting Guide which is
> for all R lists not just R-help. The word "reproducible" does not appear
> anywhere in the guide. The closest it comes is the following suggestion:
>
> "Sometimes it helps to provide a small example that someone can actually
> run."
>
> Recommendations to use the function dput() to provide sample data do not
> appear in the guide.
>
> The bottom of messages to R-help does contain the statement you've all seen,
> but I had assumed it summarized advice found elsewhere since first time
> posters may not see the message until after they have posted.
>
> "PLEASE do read the posting guide
> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html and provide commented, minimal,
> self-contained, reproducible code."
>
> The Mailing Lists page describes R-help but refers only to the posting guide
> http://www.r-project.org/mail.html and does not include this advisory
> statement.
>
> The R-help Info Page also refers only to the posting guide
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help and does not include this
> advisory statement.
>
> I hesitate to sound too optimistic, but there might be some advantage in
> making the statement more prominent and adding a reproducible example using
> dput().
>
> ----------------------------------------------
> David L Carlson
> Associate Professor of Anthropology
> Texas A&M University
> College Station, TX 77843-4352
>
> ______________________________________________
> R-help at r-project.org mailing list
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.



-- 

Bert Gunter
Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics

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