On Fri, 2005-11-18 at 07:57 -0700, Craig White wrote:
> if it is true that brevity is the form of wit, you need to demonstrate
> more wit
Agreed.
> or give readers more credit for what they should already know.
That's the problem. You think I'm not giving them credit for what they
already know. And some take it as an insult. Why is that?
Can't they be considerate of the fact that maybe not everyone has used
something before? That they weren't familiar with something I just
explained?
It's one thing if I answer someone's question who is obviously familiar
with something already, and I recover the basics. I can see how they
would take that as an insult, and I _do_ need to avoid that.
But when I answer someone who has stated they are not familiar with
something, and I cover it with verbosity and completeness, only to see
_others_ jump in and bitch about it ...
Who is the "problem" then?!
That's not on me in that case. Yes, it's verbose. Yes, the majority of
the list might not want to hear it. Yes, some might take it as
insulting ...
But *WHO* did I write it for? Think about it! ;->
Several times a week I get an off-list message from people tell me how
they appreciated my _detailed_ answer -- especially when it already
answered 2-3 follow-ups they were about to ask. And some just _avoid_
the list from then on, and ask me questions directly.
And there are _several_ of those people on this list
They just contact me off-list because of the "jump on Bryan" non-sense!
Geez, do some people every think that when I answer some questions,
there _are_ people who like the verbosity?! It is _not_ warranted
sometimes -- and I can't believe you wouldn't realize that there _are_
many cases this is true!
> Your posts are excessively verbose and since the typical reader isn't
> going to plough through each and every word unless it is absolutely
> necessary, your words lose power simply because of the sheer volume.
To the "seasoned" administrators, yes.
But to some of the people I'm answering ... think again!
Consider _who_ I am answering _before_ you think such. Because I am
_not_ writing it for the list, I'm writing it for the 1 person who asked
the question.
Which is why I just answer people off-list sometimes, because some
people have real "ego" problems and _always_ take what I say as an
insult to the list. That's _not_ on me when I'm answering someone who
_does_ appreciate the verbosity.
