On Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 04:40:13PM +0530, Suhit Kelkar wrote:
I agree with the list member[s] who say[s] newbies should be treated respectfully.
when i was a [greater] newbie, i had a bad experience on this list, a member was extremely rude to me. so i kept both myself and my suggestions away from the lug-meet that i had written to enquire about. i guess that is what that member wanted, anyway-- someone new is always threatening to the coterie.
Or perhaps the more experienced members are just tired of answering the same questions again, and again, and again. It's not a threat, it's exhaustion.
You might want to look at the most frequent responders from a few years ago and see how many of them are still active in the field.
Really, we try and help those who have put in an effort. You can send in an email pointing out your goal(s), and what you have already done to achieve those. The LUG is a volunteer group, not a free helpdesk.
re the thread discussion about silly questions: lots of people, esp. from our cultural/educational atmosphere *cannot* absorb knowledge except through a conversation. they simply cannot parse the written
Then perhaps they need to find alternate fora for learning? Email is definitely text based, as is IRC.
word, esp in English-- there is a mental block, otherwise lack of confidence, or simply the necessity to think with the left brain that makes them manual-averse. here, the person is not someone necessarily lazy, stupid or mentally challenged.
However, clearly articulating your thoughts is an important skill. Being clear and exact is important. Telling us what you have done is just as important. If you are not willing to put in the effort to do this, please explain why your respondents should put in effort to help you. We might do it to be nice, but niceness really doesn't scale.
You could very well ask a question in another language, just put up a web page/blog article with your question(s) and send in a link with a note explaining why you are asking your question in that fashion.
Devdas Bhagat