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

[Ronald Wiplinger]

Steven Critchfield wrote:

>On Thu, 2005-03-03 at 17:59 -0700, Paul Fielding wrote:
>  
>
>>----- Original Message ----- 
>>    
>>
>>>Look, don't answer lame questions if you don't want to. Flaming a newb
>>>for being a newb is just mean. (they will eventually RTFM or STFW or
>>>they will fail). This is the way of the open source community.
>>>      
>>>
>>Here Here, I'm with you.  I find it a constant source of amazement how, in 
>>all the various lists I've followed, people find it necessary to beat on the 
>>new guy.  Even the 'if you don't want to get flamed then do some research 
>>first' attitude i'm not a fan of.  Sometimes newbies are also newbies to the 
>>concept of lists, etc, as well as the topic of the list.
>>
>>Frankly, I agree.  If you don't like the question, feel it's lame or dumb, 
>>or don't like that someone hasn't done their research, then delete the 
>>message.   If you think they're wasting your time by writing a message, then 
>>don't waste any more of your own time by responding to it.  I find the 
>>pummelling of newbies more annoying than the newbie question itself.
>>    
>>
>
>  
>

Sometimes it is not the "if" you make a search, often is for new comers 
"what" to aks for.
If you do not know the specific term, than you need to ask somewhere, 
and I think the list is good for that.

To point to the 'wiki' or 'Google' in general often does not make 
sense!!! Just be silent than, if you do not know a better hint!!!

If I get a reply to my question "Look at the wiki" or "Have you searched 
it on Google" is for me just a time waster!!
If the answer is, look up "xxx" "yyy" than it makes more sense to me!!!

The term RTFM is not always a good hint either! Sometimes the right 
answer, even it is the 100th times is better (maybe even shorter) than a 
comment like that!
Besides the documentation of * and add-ons are either changing often or 
changing not often enough to the newest version.
As user we cannot "guess" what the developer team found better to use now.
E.g., ASTCC is a great product, just there is little till nothing to 
find in the wiki or Google, ... Asking in the list was also never answered.
The best product is worthless, if you cannot document it!!
I know that documentation is the last thing to do. Even my lawyer in the 
school told me, if you want to save money, ask for two set copies of a 
manual included to the machine. 95% of technical companies will fail to 
give you that IN TIME, and there you can than deduct for each day!!!

Often I think, why somebody does not make a screen shoot of all he has 
developed and attach it, so that we can guess more what the product can 
do. Again for ASTCC (obviously I fight with that one right now ;-) ) 
e.g., I cannot find anything for USERS and SIP/IAX friends, ....

1.5 cents


bye

Ronald


>As I have told others before. This list is a valuable resource even for
>those of us who know a lot about asterisk already. The users who would
>rather come here than do any work on their own become pollution to this
>list. They are the repetitive spam that has no benefit to the ones
>receiving it.
>
>This type of behavior has run many of the "guru"s off of this list. They
>are unlikely to be replaced. 
>
>BTW, telling a user they haven't done the prerequisite home work before
>asking a question is no where near pummelling. Pummelling would be
>calling them names and making personal attacks. Life is full of venues
>where you need to meet specific criteria before you are considered
>worthy of interacting.
>
>All that to lay the ground work to say that when we send a user back out
>to the search engines to do their homework, we do so as a jealous
>protecting of this forum and what value we receive from it.
>  
>


-- 
Ronald Wiplinger  (CEO of ELMIT)
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