Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!ukma!eng.ufl.edu!gnv.ifas.ufl.edu!sjs
From: sjs@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: pointer size
Message-ID: <1991May30.093453.170@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu>
Date: 30 May 91 14:34:53 GMT
References: <6001@goanna.cs.rmit.oz.au> <6218@tellab5.tellabs.com> <13697@dog.ee.lbl.gov> <16307@smoke.brl.mil>
Lines: 66

In article <16307@smoke.brl.mil>, gwyn@smoke.brl.mil (Doug Gwyn) writes:

> In article <13697@dog.ee.lbl.gov> torek@elf.ee.lbl.gov (Chris Torek) writes:
>>Where were you last week when this was done to death?  Or three weeks
>>ago when it was also done to death?  Or eight weeks ago when it was also
>>done to death?  Or four months ago when it was also done to death?  Or...
>>How many times do we have to tell you?
>>*READ THE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.*

Hey!  Not everyone knows what subjects have been done to death.  Also, some
systems delete messages after they are a week or so old.  Plus, many people
don't know what a FAQ is (or even what the abbreviation means) until one
is posted.  Maybe the FAQ should be mentioned at the end of more messages,
so new readers know what's going on.  (I'd like to add how distasteful 
I find it when a new subscriber asks what certain abbreviations or 
cryptic references mean, only to be flamed by the clique.)

> This newsgroup used to be a useful tool for the working C programmer,
> but recently it seems to have degenerated into a vehicle for ignorant
> people to pester the net instead of going to the trouble to learn the
> C language themselves. Perhaps we've been contributing to this by
> helping too much when we should have been saying "GO STUDY THE
> AVAILABLE INTRODUCTORY C LITERATURE AND DON'T BOTHER US UNTIL YOU
> UNDERSTAND THE BASICS".

If someone wants to play censor and decide what questions are worthy
of being answered then I will drop this group as well.  I have no
difficulty skimming the subject lines or going on to the next message
if the item is one that can be answered with a little effort on the
querent's part.

Leave the simple queries be -- it gives the poster a chance to learn
the system, and it gives others who might not be experts a chance to
learn how to reply.  If someone is just being a pest, he will soon
stop when he finds he is being ignored, or else he will discover what
"flaming" means. 

> I don't think I can justify spending any more time helping out, so I'm
> unsubscribing from comp.lang.c.  If anyone has an INFORMED question
> about C that they want my help with, they can contact me directly.

Like, when you drop out, people will know that you exist, considering 
these messages will be culled sooner or later.

I think USENET works quite well for what it is:  FREE.  You can't 
expect all messages to be directed to your level of experience; for 
that, it is better to subscribe to a C journal.


/*  For the new folks:  FAQ means Frequently Asked Questions; it is a 
    message that is posted at the beginning of every month, and answers 
    questions about pointers and lots of other C-related things.  Please
    download it and use it as a reference.
*/


There, was that so hard?


+---------------------------------------------+  Living in the lamb-light, the
|     ~~~     Borco                           |  universal sheep; for those who
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