On Thu, Oct 16, 2003 at 08:02:16AM -0400, Edward Croft wrote: > Well, then, if we are to look up the answers ourselves, and frankly the > resources in a lot of cases are lacking, incomplete, etc., and we aren't > welcomed here to ask questions, then what good is this list? I think you misunderstood what I said. I did not say questions aren't welcome. I did say questions that can be *easily* solved with available documentation or a quick archive search should be avoided as courtesy to the list. > I have been on bb's, Compuserve groups, lists, etc, almost since the > first PCs got online. This is the first time I have been involved with > a list that doesn't want to answer questions or share experiences. Again, it's not about not answering questions. It's about keeping the noise down by avoiding issues that can easily be solved otherwise. I've been on Usenet and lists for years and - especially on computer realated lists - it's been absolutely *standard* in all those forums to expect from the participants to do their home work before crying for help. I've been flamed in the beginnings for not doing so, and rightly so. I've learned from it. The Netiquette is there for a reason. I still think that an attitude of "I'm too lazy to do a quick search, please present me the answer on a silver platter" is just plain rude. The funny thing is: It's not even wise on the part of the person asking that question, as in most cases, the archive search or documentation search would have been much quicker than asking on a mailing list and waiting for the answer... > Maybe it is my history, but one of the best lists/groups/forums, I > ever was involved with was the Homebrewers. There was often flame > wars started over who had the better mill, [...] > Not once did someone say, RTFB before you ask a question. Not once > did I hear someone say, we're not going to answer unless you search > the archives, or Alta Vista (Google wasn't around then). Maybe it's down to the topic, but I've never seen any world-wide computer-related forum that would have tolerated such behaviour, fortunately... And redhat-list is a rather cosy place - try misc@xxxxxxxxxxx for a laugh. Anybody who doesn't do his home work will be shot down immediately. The result might seem a rough place, but it's one of the most helpful lists I've ever seen if you come with a question that cannot be solved easily with the docs (which are better than the Linux docs, granted) or the archives. [...] > My point is that a forum/list/group should be there to help people. No argument there. But that includes helping people to help themselves, instead of presenting "out-of-the-box" solutions. It's so much more valuable for all parties involved. > I never heard once someone deride someone else to read the > archives/etc, [...] > Don't Worry Have a Homebrew! Maybe that was the reason... ;-) "Don't worry, have a penguin" doesn't quite work the same way... :-)) Nonetheless, I'm curious: How big was the scope of that forum: A few hundred? Thousands? Local, worldwide? I'm asking, 'cause it's hard to imagine this working on a list like redhat-list (let alone world-wide Usenet forums) with thousands of mails per month - the sheer volume would make the list unusable, IMO. > The world was a friendlier place back then. "Friendly" is a matter of definition sometimes. I've already mentioned that I regard some "FAQ behaviour" as rude (same goes for folks who are too lazy to trim their quotes and similar behaviour). On the other hand, I absolutely agree with you if you say that answers should be written in a polite, friendly manner, even if you *do* point the sender to other sources. There's no reason for getting unfriendly when doing so. Very friendly regards, Thomas -- ==> RH List Archive: http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=redhat-list&r=1&w=2 <== ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thomas Ribbrock http://www.ribbrock.org "You have to live on the edge of reality - to make your dreams come true!" -- redhat-list mailing list unsubscribe mailto:redhat-list-request@xxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/redhat-list
