On Sat, Nov 14, 2009 at 8:18 AM, Victor Subervi <victorsubervi@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Man, Scott, you've hit it on the head! Gotta be honest. My name isn't
> "Victor Subervi". I've changed names on these lists so many times just to
> escape all the *#*%)+_& people throw at me, and I'll be changing names again
> after this post. What you all gonna do about it? Grow up! Treat people as
> you would like to be treated. Bye!
> Victor whateverMyNameIsLOL
The reactions you are generating are essentially a living
personification of ESR's 'How to ask smart questions' document. To
quote from that guide:
The first thing to understand is that hackers actually like hard
problems and good, thought-provoking questions about them. If we
didn't, we wouldn't be here. If you give us an interesting question to
chew on we'll be grateful to you; good questions are a stimulus and a
gift. Good questions help us develop our understanding, and often
reveal problems we might not have noticed or thought about otherwise.
Among hackers, “Good question!” is a strong and sincere compliment.
Despite this, hackers have a reputation for meeting simple questions
with what looks like hostility or arrogance. It sometimes looks like
we're reflexively rude to newbies and the ignorant. But this isn't
really true.
What we are, unapologetically, is hostile to people who seem to be
unwilling to think or to do their own homework before asking
questions. People like that are time sinks — they take without giving
back, and they waste time we could have spent on another question more
interesting and another person more worthy of an answer
</endquote>
Essentially you have asked enough of the 'wrong' type of questions on
this list to have the more terse amongst us label you as a time sink,
taking simple answers from the list and supplying no real community
benefit. THe fact that you talk about changing your name multiple
times to avoid catching this kind of crap is evidence that you simply
do not (or choose not to) get the culture. I and many others use our
real names on this list, because at some levels of the business,
reputation is worth far more than certification. While the above ESR
quote may be considered arrogant, just as several members of this list
may be called similar, it should not be taken as that. We're vocal and
passionate about what we do, in all aspects. Answering a question
which can be easily solved by 30 seconds with documentation is a waste
of 30 seconds. Answering a question which requires me to learn about
something, test a hypothesis, or think about the implications of
different solutions is a gift, as ESR described.
I'll leave one final ESR quote here which pretty much sums up my
feelings on the matter more eloquently than I am able to muster:
It's simply not efficient for us to try to help people who are not
willing to help themselves. It's OK to be ignorant; it's not OK to
play stupid.
So, while it isn't necessary to already be technically competent to
get attention from us, it is necessary to demonstrate the kind of
attitude that leads to competence — alert, thoughtful, observant,
willing to be an active partner in developing a solution. If you can't
live with this sort of discrimination, we suggest you pay somebody for
a commercial support contract instead of asking hackers to personally
donate help to you.
--
During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.
George Orwell
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