Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!oliveb!pyramid!prls!philabs!micomvax!ray From: ray@micomvax.UUCP (Ray Dunn) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: How to ask for info Message-ID: <1545@micomvax.UUCP> Date: 13 Dec 88 15:05:35 GMT References: <454@ur-cc.UUCP> Reply-To: ray@micomvax.UUCP (Ray Dunn) Organization: Philips Electronics Ltd. (TDS - Montreal) St. Laurent QC, Canada Lines: 36 In article <454@ur-cc.UUCP> joss@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (Josh Sirota) writes: >BTW - At the end of my last posting I said that I'd like replies e-mailed >because I don't always have time to read this newsgroup. Thanks for >honoring that. One person, however, complained that this is a "rather >arrogant way to ask for help." It is an arrogant way to ask for help unless you clearly state "I will summarize replies to the net" (you may well have done), and honour that promise (which you certainly did). This is an accepted USENET practice to keep volume low, but can be very frustrating for someone who is looking for just that same piece of information. >because I don't always have time to read this newsgroup. is *not* a good reason, because you are asking other people to make an effort on your behalf without seeming to match that effort yourself. There is one interesting fact about this particular newsgroup however. The question to answer ratio would appear to be very high compared with other groups (with a few notable exceptions every now and again). *Many* questions go by unanswered publicly, and if my own experience is anything to go by, privately too. Is this because the volume in the newsgroup inhibits replying? I know there are many questions I could answer if only I could budget the time. Is it the extremely wide range of expertise the group attempts to cover? Perhaps *this* should be the driving reason to split comp.sys.ibm.pc into separate wizard and application, or hardware and software, groups? -- Ray Dunn. | UUCP: ..!philabs!micomvax!ray Philips Electronics Ltd. | TEL : (514) 744-8200 Ext: 2347 600 Dr Frederik Philips Blvd | FAX : (514) 744-6455 St Laurent. Quebec. H4M 2S9 | TLX : 05-824090