Has anyone besides me noticed that the "History" category has become a site for homework?

I love to use the "History" section to answer questions and to seek knowledge about history. However, lately it seems as though it has become a site where teenagers want people to do their homework for them. By doing so, I think we aid and abet cheating. And don't give me the the "I only want to help" response, because these guys do not want help!! They want you to do their research and work. Anyone as annoyed as I am with this development on a site being so misused??

I agree. I am a history enthusiast and I look on here for insights in to topics of interest to me, not to help 14 y/o's with homework. The questions are always so simple also, were these people not paying any attention in class?

You might wonder also why they need to ask for help on the internet. Where are their parents?
I would love to help a child find answers to questions. It is impossible to cheat on a test while typing a question online. Your being terribly harsh. Report It

It is annoying, to be sure, but if you want the real perpetrators of this, go down to the mathematics section, where students not only type out (verbatim) their problem, but demand that you show the steps that you took to get it.

There's nothing that we can do about them, besides refuse to answer their question. They're pretty easy to spot, because they are written in question format.

"Compare and contrast X and X. How does this factor into Y?"

Just ignore them. There's nothing that can be done, except encourage people who are genuinly enthusiastic about history.

It doesn't bother me. We're not the ultimate source for information, hopefully they'll know that, but its something i don't mind doing. Whether it comes from primary sources, other web sites or ANSWERS.COM....it doesn't make a difference, does it? Don't you consider your answers just as good as some of the web sites?

I have to agree with you over and above efw's answer.

It is sheer laziness in a lot of respects - many of the questions could simply be answered by entering one or two words on a search engine. I ignore them, although I do consider my answers to be good but, no, I don't believe that those who post these questions would know a primary source if it smacked them between the eyes. I don't mind helping someone who makes at least a little effort, rather than just cutting and pasting their homework on here.

So, altogether, would you say that :

a. this is indicative of a major decline in the work ethic of the youth of today
b. the teachers should make it a little more difficult to ask these questions
c. by asking for help it shows a lack of moral fibre
d. homework is a needless exercise only arising because teachers are unable to time-manage their lessons properly
e. you don't give a monkey's

I agree it all. Lazy people, have a read !!

Yes BUT....
I love the way they just copy and paste too, like "name the...." Is that a question? More like a demand. Or another favorite, "does anyone have an essay or paper on....." Jesus! Really?!

HOWEVER, if you're on here to answer questions and love history you can help educate these lazy cusses by answering questions with ideas that make them think like, "the south would've abolished slavery anyway because..." or "FDR was, in fact, a horrible president reminiscent of a dictator as seen in his actions to..." This may seem like a lot of effort but if even one in ten of these kids look up these ideas and think for themselves about history as a flowing concept rather than a concrete past then we have brought a responsible human into this world.

I actually fought my local school board to not have history as a high school requirement but had a great teacher who made me think about it in a new light and changed my life. My degree is in History/Education but sadly a couple years after I graduated the school board did decide to reduce the requirements for graduation to only 1 semester of US History and 1 semester of American government. I hate myself every day for the part I played in that. These kids, and all of society, are being robbed because of their education. If you're really on here to help I think you can.... just don't give straight answers ;)