Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tektronix!tekecs!nobody
From: nobody@tekecs.GWD.TEK.COM (-for inetd server command)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: flamage about used hardware docs
Message-ID: <11084@tekecs.GWD.TEK.COM>
Date: 28 Feb 89 20:05:06 GMT
References: <15@dbase.UUCP> <8400010@gistdev>
Reply-To: stank@anvil.UUCP (Stan Kalinowski)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Wilsonville, OR
Lines: 47

In article <8400010@gistdev> dlp@gistdev.UUCP writes:

>there's no excuse for 'not knowing anything about it'.  I am sick of seeing
>notes that basically say 'I got a real bargain deal on <hardware>, but the
>guy I got it from couldn't tell me anything about it, and of course I didn't
>ask any questions, let alone call the police.  Can I get the docs for it
>from the net for free?  Thanks loads, suckers.'  I'm also sick of seeing
>notes about bargain deals on <hardware> at auctions, swap meets, etc.

This sort of flaming doesn't seem to be in the spirit of cooperation
that I think this news group is all about.  It seems to me that no one
is looking for a free ride, they are just looking for pointers to
information.  I don't see how asking about pointers to hardware
documentation differs from asking about documentation for software or
anything else.  People routinely exchange man pages and README files
via e-mail, why should hardware docs be any different?  Naturally,
each user should consider the cost of transmitting such documents, and
use paper mail where the cost might otherwise be prohibitive.

The comments in the quote above seem to presume that all undocumented
hardware is stolen.  I really must take exception to this assertion.
The author of the above remarks may not have realized that the PC has
become so widely used that disks, boards and other components are
becoming a commodity.  Used parts are beginning appear from reputable
dealers just like used parts for automobiles.  Like automobiles, the
original owner may not have kept all the documentation for a given
part, or they may have never had it in the first place, for legitimate
reasons.  (e.g. PC's, like automobiles, are sometimes sold as a
pre-configured package, the system integrator does not always include
all component documentation.)

I maintain that one of the intended functions of this news group is to
help people gain knowledge about the use and maintenance of PC's.
With this in mind, I feel that the exchange of information about
hardware, used or otherwise, is appropriate and should not be flamed.

If my interpretation of what is appropriate for this news group is
wrong, please let me know.  I don't want to violate network etiquette,
so correct me if I am wrong, but please, do so in a rational tone and
with an open mind.

							stank

US Mail: Stan Kalinowski, Tektronix, Inc.	
         Information Display Group, Interactive Technologies Division
         PO Box 1000, MS 61-028, Wilsonville OR 97070   Phone:(503)-685-2458
uucp:    {ucbvax,decvax,allegra,uw-beaver}!tektronix!orca!stank