Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcsun!unido!sinix!es
From: es@sinix.UUCP (Dr. Sanio)
Newsgroups: news.newusers.questions
Subject: Re: What does 'UNIX' mean ?
Message-ID: <988@athen.sinix.UUCP>
Date: 14 Feb 90 12:26:21 GMT
References: <22187@unix.cis.pitt.edu> <11369@attctc.Dallas.TX.US>
Reply-To: es@athen.UUCP (Dr. Sanio)
Distribution: news
Organization: Siemens AG, DI ST SP4, Munich
Lines: 47

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):
>} 
>} 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, 
>
>If your feelings are THAT touchy, then get off of Usenet altogether.  You'll
>never survive.
>
>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.
>                           --Dave
>
PEACE !!!
I believe that simply giving either the answer, advising to get it from a
site or subnet close by (maybe by email) or suggesting that a neighbouring site
emails the article(s) mentioned would have saved a lot of bandwidth.

Further on, many net virgins may even not know the meaning of RTFM (read the
f*cking manual - as I remember) - that may contribute to their frustration,
additionally.

The most harmful effect of such a style - which at least sounds  arrogant,
if it isn't - is that newcomers may stop reading this group and mess around
in the whole net. If the same questions had been posted into, say comp.unix.
wizards, I possibly would flame, too.

Tolerance towards newcomers is an important issue of this group, which may help
them to use the net's facilities more carefully. The freedom to do mistakes
must be granted, here. Otherwise, the mistakes will be done elsewhere, e.g.
posting into inappropriate distributions, multiple postings vs. crosspostings
and all the shit occurring everyday.

In summary, I regard inappropriate arrogance in this group, which has the
explicit issue to welcome, train and educate newcomers at least equally
unwise as an unappropriate or silly question. And it's harder to me to
forgive when experienced user are doing it.

>        David Guntner  UUCP: {ames, mit-eddie}!attctc!davidg
regards, es