chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) (08/25/89)
>>... we don't read manuals. We shouldn't have to read manuals. >No, we should spend our time and net $$ sending questions to people who >HAVE read the manuals. I love this mentality, which seems to abound in >all computer labs The answer, of course, is simple. If someone asks a question you think is brain-dead, you don't answer it, even if you know the answer. That way you don't waste your time. This has been my basic philosophy on the net for years -- I answer the questions that I think deserve an answer. If someone else considers it worth answering, let them spend the time posting the answer. I take this one step further, too. I categorically refuse to answer questions that are prefaced by "I don't read this group, but..." for two reasons. One is that 90% of the time the question has been asked before and they'd *have* the answer. The other is that if they aren't reading the group, they can't be contributing to it -- and as far as I'm concerned, a grop on USENET is a cooperative effort. Everyone should be willing to give what they can and take what they need. Someone prancing in and asking a question without bothering to read the group, by definition, can't give anything back. If you don't agree with something someone is doing, answer it with silence. It wastes a lot less of your time than trying to 'educate' the people (which doesn't work) and total silence is as strong an editorial against a given abuse of the network as any flamewar. chuq (down with net.vampires!) Chuq Von Rospach =|= Editor,OtherRealms =|= Member SFWA/ASFA chuq@apple.com =|= CI$: 73317,635 =|= AppleLink: CHUQ [This is myself speaking. No company can control my thoughts.]
peter@aucs.uucp (Peter Steele) (08/28/89)
chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) writes: >The answer, of course, is simple. If someone asks a question you think is >brain-dead, you don't answer it, even if you know the answer. That way you >don't waste your time. This has been my basic philosophy on the net for >years -- I answer the questions that I think deserve an answer. If someone >else considers it worth answering, let them spend the time posting the answer. I'm not nearly so fussy. If I feel like replying to a posting, brain-dead or not, I do so. My basic policy is "pro-don't-care". >I take this one step further, too. I categorically refuse to answer >questions that are prefaced by "I don't read this group, but..." Again, I'm not nearly so analytical. I'll answer it if I feel like it. The fact that whoever doesn't read the group doesn't bother me a bit. My boss often asks me to get info on something out of my field and I'll post a message to the most appropriate groups, including ones I don't read. -- Peter Steele, Microcomputer Applications Analyst Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, Canada B0P1X0 (902)542-2201x121 UUCP: {uunet|watmath|utai|garfield}!cs.dal.ca!aucs!Peter BITNET: Peter@Acadia Internet: Peter@AcadiaU.CA