On Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:10:16 +0200, francogrex <fra...@grex.org> wrote:
>Unfortunately many so-called experts in the field look down >on newbies and mistreat them (in any programming language forum), >forgetting in the process that they were also at a certain time >newbies until some gentle and nice enough teachers took the >trouble to educate them. I don't think it's accurate to say that [some] experts really "scorn" newbies, but I do agree that newbies are occasionally mistreated. One thing newbies have to realize is that on Usenet you are quite likely to be talking to people who were there at the beginning and, of necessity, are largely self educated in whatever the subject matter might be. Many - I'd even say most - are happy to clarify understanding and help with complicated problems, but there is a general expectation that newbies have some basic research skills and that they have tried to solve their problem before asking for help. Unfortunately, there is a small percentage of people who think Usenet and other online forums are for answering homework questions or for digging out of a jam at work. Getting help depends a lot on how the question is asked: strident pleas for quick help or demands for an answer are immediate red flags, but so are questions that begin with "X is crap, why can't I do ..." and even seemingly polite questions that are vague or unfocused (possibly indicating little or no thought behind them) or posts which are directed to a large number of groups (such as this thread we're in now). And, of course, in the language forums, drawing comparisons to non-subject languages is generally considered rude except when done to illustrate a relevant discussion point. Introducing irrelevant comparisons, deliberately proselytizing X in a Y group or doing a lot of complaining about the subject language is bound to attract disdain. As the Internet has grown, the absolute number of people in that "small percentage" has grown as well. A newbie can simply be unlucky enough to ask a question at the wrong time. If there has been a recent rash of problem posts then experts may accidentally respond negatively to a legitimate question. Of course, there are cross-cultural issues too. Many of the technical groups are English-language. English, even when polite, can seem harsh and/or abrupt to non-native speakers. On the whole, moderated groups are more conducive to helping newbies because the moderator(s) filter obvious red flag posts. And, finally, newbies themselves should realize that experts are donating time to answer questions and do get frustrated answering the same questions over and over. They should not be offended by "cold" responses that direct them to FAQs or that just give links to study material. Newbies who need hand-holding or warm welcoming responses filled with detail should go find a tutor. > ... you have the bad "professors" who are freaks >(probably they have a lot of problems at home, their wives >screwing all the males on the block, daughters drug addicts etc) >and want to take their hatred out on you, Unquestionably, there are experts who need their dosages adjusted. But the same can be said for some percentage of other users too. OTOH, newbies often aren't in the position to know who is an expert ... obviously, anyone able to correctly answer their question knows more about that specific issue. That doesn't necessarily qualify the responder as an "expert". Some people get defensive at the edges of their comfort zones. Just some thoughts. YMMV. George -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
