[ Jim Graham Wrote On Thu 29.Nov'12 at 14:08:45 GMT ] > Look at it from the other direction---you're on an e-mail list, where > people ask questions, and other people use their own free time and > volunteer to help those asking the questions. It is perfectly reasonable > to expect that the person asking the question > > A) do their homework first (i.e., try to solve the problem on their > own before asking); > > B) take the time to post the information needed to help (e.g., in the > Android developers list, that would be the purpose of your app, > what you were expecting, what really happened, relevant//suspect > code, and relevant log (logcat) output); > > C) post in clear, concise English (or whatever the usual language is > on the list), using, to the best of your ability, proper spelling, > grammar, punctuation, and capitalizatino (not all one case); > > D) post in the format used and preferred on said list...that means > default line wraps, top//mixed posting, proper trimming, useful > subject lines (that does NOT include things like "Hi", "Help me", > "My app won't work", etc.); > > E) and finally, remember that you are asking someone to give of their > time to help you, and never demand immediate help, ask for full > code for the app (fully tested, of course) for the app, and so on. > > If people can't be bothered to take the time to do these things, more > often than not, the gurus on the list won't bother to take the time to > answer. It's a question of mutual respect, consideration, courtesy, > etc., and if you don't like that, well, that's the way it usually is, so > get used to it. > > In the Android list, there are those (typically NOT the ones who are the > gurus on the list) who will answer, but from what I've seen, they often > post some really...ummm...strange "solutions" (if you're in a generous > enough to call them that). Often these solutions then need (but may not > get---see above) corrections after either being pure bs or not even > supported, which might work here, might crash there, and might do > something completely unexpected and right "out of the blue".... > > What I normally see is users who post nonsensical or otherwise difficult > to read posts being advised how they SHOULD post if they want answers. > I sometimes take the time to try to help in that regard, myself, but I > won't try to read the OP's mind. Sometimes, those advice posts use links > (two in particular, a list that explains how to post "smart questions' > and one that is basically, "Let me google that for you"). I can never > remember the URLs for either (chemobrain from cancer #1), so mine are > written out. I should, now that I think about it, make an abbrev for > both of those (something like abbrev _smartquestions [link]). :-) > > On that, we definitely agree, but the OP should still try to find a good > translator...obviously, some are MUCH better than others. But then, I > have also run into several (some of which I consider good friends OFF > of the list) who, while not a native English speaker, speak (and type) > better English than many native English speakers...better spelled, better > grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and vocabulary. I just wonder > which nation's school system is the most responsible for that..... > > Other times, however, the OP's translation is so unreadable that any > attempt to help would be useless. This also includes native English > speakers who use twitter-speak, or similar types of typing. > > Later, > --jim
I agree with all of these points and have stated that several times in earlier messages. People that read mailing lists simply for amusement at what, I imagine, they see as incompetence in others is ridiculous. It undermines the very purpose of the mailing-list. There could be any number of reasons why someone might not compose a perfect message: there could be learning difficulties, some other physical impairment, someone very young and new to the concept of technical mailing lists, etc. I submit that finding amusement from that shows a great deal of disrespect and even shows something fundamentally wrong with that persons mental health. I don't like people that are rude and unnecessarily harsh to a person that simply hasn't formatted an email to their personal liking. That is disrespectful. Some even go so far as to reply to individuals off-list in a rude and harsh manner to conceal their rudeness. This behaviour is unacceptable. It also puts people off from posting questions to mailing lists in case they should be flamed for something trivial. This is wrong. People who haven't followed the guidelines you kindly reminded us of, can be treated nicely and referred to certain sources of information that describe netiquette, as we've come know it. This is my point. Comparing this subject to a situation where people are gathered at a dining table is laughable really. There is no correlation between someone behaving like a pig at a dinner table and someone posting to a mailing list where they have not researched their topic or formatted their email perfectly and without grammatical errors.
