[Asterisk-Users] Why should I answer a Newbie question, therethick!

[Steven Critchfield]

On Wed, 2005-03-02 at 11:01 -0500, Race Vanderdecken wrote:
> This list is owned by no one.

Actually it is owned by Digium. It has many contributers though.

> When someone drives off the road into a ditch in a snow storm they last
> thing they need is someone telling them they should have invested in
> snow chains and defensive driving lessons before leaving the house.
> 
> Newbies need help getting out of the ditch so traffic can continue to
> flow and the rubber neckers can be abated. If you are not willing to
> pull off to the side of the road and help the fool by pushing their car
> out of the ditch you have no right to give him the finger as you drive
> past.

As a person who spent 9 hours in traffic last winter just to drive 15
miles due to idiots who should have just stayed home, I think your
analogy breaks down. 

At some point, you either need to learn to drive or you pay someone else
to transport you or your stuff. Same applies to computer work, either
you can do the work yourself or you pay someone else to do it. Even your
snow driver analogy works here, you either get yourself out of the ditch
or you pay someone to do it for you. 

The payment is not always monetary. Sometimes the payment is just a
showing of sufficient effort. Back to your snow driver analogy, if the
driver in the ditch is just waiting in the car for you to come over and
push them out without even attempting anything on their own, you would
be less inclined to bother. You would be even less inclined to continue
exerting your own effort if the driver was not cooperating or wasn't
even interested in getting out to help push.
-- 
Steven Critchfield <critch at basesys.com>