Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!mit-eddie!attctc!davidg
From: davidg@attctc.Dallas.TX.US (David Guntner)
Newsgroups: news.newusers.questions
Subject: Who's more "helpful?" & Attitudes (Was Re: What does 'UNIX' mean ?)
Message-ID: <11399@attctc.Dallas.TX.US>
Date: 10 Feb 90 17:26:20 GMT
References: <22210@unix.cis.pitt.edu>
Distribution: news
Organization: The Unix(R) Connection, Dallas, Texas
Lines: 66

From article <22210@unix.cis.pitt.edu}, by wct1@unix.cis.pitt.edu (William C Tom):
}In article <11369@attctc.Dallas.TX.US< davidg@attctc.Dallas.TX.US (David Guntner) writes:
}<From article <22187@unix.cis.pitt.edu}, by wct1@unix.cis.pitt.edu (William C Tom):
}<} 
}<} In article <11321@attctc.Dallas.TX.US< davidg@attctc.Dallas.TX.US (David Guntner) writes:

[Lots of stuff deleted....]
 
}<} I am fairly new to the usenet. Yes, I have read news.announce.newusers, but 
}<} unlike some of you guys, I have not been able to memorize all the items.
}<} It seems that on this present newsgroup, questions from virgin netters
}<} are frequently greeted with "RTFM".  The above response is typical, 
}<} smiley-face not withstanding.  If you are bother to answer, why not
}<} give the f**king answer , and then recommend RTFM (knowing, superior
}<} smile on your face, no doubt).  If you know it all but would rather not
}<} tell, then get off this newsgroup.
}<
}<If your feelings are THAT touchy, then get off of Usenet altogether.  You'll
}<never survive.
}<
}<No one can memorize all the items, true.  That's why it's a good idea to
}<save the articles for future reference in your home directory, and then you
}<can simply look it up.
}<
}<Granted, vetran Usenetters fairly typically answer with "RTFM" (with or
}<without smileys), because SO MANY new users simply don't bother to do
}<so (or even know that it's there (or where to look...) -- that's why I
}<followed it up with information on where to look).  It's been a while, but
}<I believe the questions-and-answers article I mentioned even says at the
}<beginning of it that it's purpose was in part to help stop the proliferation
}<of the exact same (common) questions popping up over and over again.
} 
}My point was that you could have given the answer AND refer the poster on to
}news.announce.newusers.  In fact, another, much more helpful, poster gave
}the answer to "what is UNIX" shortly after your reply.  If you and your ilk 
}find the simple questions too elementary for your consideration, don't clutter
}up the network with vapid asininities.

It's not smugness, as you sugested, it's experience.  In real life, as well as
on Usenet, I've found (and I'm sure there are other veteran users who will
identify with this - certainly at least the ones who've had occation to reply
with "RTFM"... 8-]) far too often that if someone asks a question which can be
easily looked up and you give them the answer (and tell them about the 
"manual" where they can look it up), they never bother to do so.  After all,
why should they bother?  They've gotten the answer they wanted.  Whereas if
you tell them to look it up first and THEN ask questions if they still have
them, you end up benifiting them far more in the long run, because they end
up retaining the information longer when they look it up themselves, and in
the process of researching their question they learn other things as well
(which they might have questioned later on, but now don't have to).  So who's
being more helpful?

}As for my survival on Usenet, I'm doing quite well; thank you for your concern.
}What I *will* avoid from now on, however, is this newsgroup, which seems to
}contain more than its share of smug users who seem to think that they are part 
}of some hackers'gnosis.

It'll be interesting to see what your attitude is like a year from now.  We
shall have to wait and see....
                   --Dave

-- 
        David Guntner  UUCP: {ames, mit-eddie}!attctc!davidg
                       INET: davidg@attctc.Dallas.TX.US  (killer)
"...New ship, but she's got the right name. ...Treat     --Admiral L. McCoy
 her like a lady, and she'll always bring you home."   "Encounter at Farpoint"