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From: clouds@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Kathy Strong)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Re: Basic questions posted to the net.
Message-ID: <39685@ut-emx.uucp>
Date: 14 Nov 90 15:28:25 GMT
References: <36278@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Sender: news@ut-emx.uucp
Reply-To: clouds@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Kathy Strong)
Lines: 32

"answers to obvious questions?"

Yeah, I think that some of these people are operating without a manual,
but it doesn't necessarily follow that they are pirates (large university
computer labs come to mind...). Sometimes the questions seem PAINFULLY
obvious, I'll grant... when the fellow asked "how do I highlight a whole
document in Word?" I wrote him an email reply that began "You're probably
going to get a hundred replies, and at least half will begin 'Dear Joe,
RTFM'..."  (with a smiley, of course, and then I told him how).

I teach an "informal class," one of those once-a-week nighttime jobbies,
on design for desktop publishers, and I firmly believe that the only STUPID
question is the one that isn't asked. What if Joe had gone the rest of his
life dragging the cursor all the way through his Word documents to high-
light them? :-)

So, I think it's a matter of net.courtesy not to flame on people with
questions whose answers you learned in the cradle. On the other hand, it's
also net.courtesy to answer in email, unless three other postings pop up
saying "Yeah, *I* too want to know how to do that."

And hey, could someone tell me how to ftp?  (just kidding)

--Kathy


-- 
...........................................................................
:   Kathy Strong               :  "Try our Hubble-Rita: just one shot,     :
:  (Clouds moving slowly)      :   and everything's blurry"                :
:   clouds@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu  :                           --El Arroyo     :
:..........................................................................: