[Asterisk-Users] Netiquette, newbies, politeness and such (was G.729 . . . I SMELL SMOKE!)

[Chris Travers]

Jim Van Meggelen wrote:

>asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com wrote:
>  
>
>>On Sat, 2004-10-23 at 01:06 -0400, Jim Van Meggelen wrote:
>>    
>>
>>>Few will disagree that the careful application of netiquette will be
>>>a benefit to any newsgroup/mailing list/board; and top posting is
>>>something that should be used sparingly. Nevertheless, top posting is
>>>not the horrid crime some might have us believe. When used
>>>appropriately, it serves very well, and only causes offense to the
>>>ideologues. "Me too"-type top posing is usually of no benefit, but
>>>when someone is commenting on a tangled and involved thread, it can
>>>make sense to frame the entirety of the thread in a thoughtful top
>>>post.
>>>      
>>>
>>Don't forget the same people who refuse to trim the bottom of
>>the post and we end up with 20(your case only 1) copy of the mailing
>>list footer. 
>>    
>>
>
>Sure, but then do we want to start picking on grammar and spelling as
>well? That's something that drives me nuts, yet I realize that many
>people consider it to be unimportant. It was a hotly debated topic in
>Usenet for some years, until it was realized that the community was not
>served by all of this endless bickering about grammar and punctunation.
>Many people fear, however, that eventually we wi11 |\|0+ b3 4b13 +0
>u|\|d3r5+4|\|d 34(|-| 0+|-|3r 4|\|ym0r3 (thanks to
>http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/l/leetspea.htm for the translation to
>leetspeak/133+5p34k).
>
>  
>
I think that this is an important point.  There are times when you want 
to preserve context.  In the case of this, I think that there are times 
when top posting is not always a bad thing.  And sometimes even mail 
comes in out of order, so if the parent has not arrived, it is hard to 
understand what someone is referring to.  In this case, sometimes more 
context is better.

Tolerance, people.....

.

>
>Not at all. I respect that truth. On the other hand, I also know that
>some people are able to attain knowledge easier than others -- their
>minds simply absorb knowledge more efficiently. People who are less
>capable in this regard know this, and may prefer to obtain their answers
>from someone they consider an expert -- rather than do reserch on their
>own. Is this an offense; or is it a compliment?
>
>  
>
Also understand that often we read the documentation and if we don't 
have extensive background, it makes sense to ask questions.

Let me make an important point.  I have been on the Asterisk list for a 
while.  When I started, the list was primarily useful for bug 
reporting.  Most other questions were not answered on list, though if 
you were lucky, someone might follow-up and try to sell you a solution 
off-list.  Now, I have been on many open source email lists, and this 
was just not very newbie friendly.   For reference, I think that the 
PostgreSQL list is probably the most helpful of any I have seen so far.

But over time, as Asterisk has matured and the community expanded, the 
list has become much more useful for newbies and everyone else.  It is 
now one of the better communities I have seen and is always improving.  
Part of my measure is the frequency that questions in general get answered.

Lets face it-- many of us are self-taught.  We read and research, but we 
might end up with holes in our knowledge, so many of us will end up 
asking braindead questions from time to time.  Part of what makes the 
community valuable is its ability to answer these questions.

Best Wishes,
Chris Travers
Metatron Technology Consulting

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