Re: Why mailing-lists? Usenet have been invented, I hear. ;-)
On Monday 09 September 2002 10:42 pm, Barney Wrightson wrote:
> David Pastern wrote:
> <Snip>
>
> > 10. Remember that english is not everyones main tongue. Writing skills
> > are always weaker for a person from a NESB (non english speaking
> > background).
> >
> > Best wishes,
> >
> > Dave W Pastern
>
> On the contrary, I tend to find that the worst English comes from people
> who claim it as their first language. Normally if a post contains the
> words "please excuse my english" I am pretty confident of being able to
> understand it perfectly :)
>
> Barney.
i doubt that the op's problem had to do with a dearth of language skills. to
judge by the quality of his post, i would have to conclude that he was less
interested in admitting to a need of help than he was at blaming his
frustration on anyone but himself. my first reaction was to think that his
attitude proved why some people can't be cured of their affliction. on
reflection, i simply appreciate his self-immolation. when you barge into a
party, demanding a beer, you can't really be surprised when nobody feels
inclined to point you in the direction of the keg, or by their relief when
you leave. beligerence begets resentment. it's a sandbox lesson for most of
us; then again, some seem deliberately inclined not to learn, at all.
this is the best support list i've ever experienced. i've got a running
system that satisfies near all of my needs--except watching all of my dvd's,
but even that isn't a fault in debian--that cost me five bucks for progeny
disks a long while back. somebody once said that debian is not the place to
start but it is where you will end up, or words to that effect. it's known
for that. anyone who takes it on expecting it to be any other way just isn't
paying attention. ending up here is a consequence of realizing that
everything else sucks. it's like the reverse of hitting bottom, yet still
finding that the only way to go is up. the first time i read this list, i was
still trying to get the best out of suse, having done slack, rh, and fooled
around with freebsd, even toying with mandrake for the week it took to get
full-on bored, i knew that this was the place to be. i pounded on with suse
for about another month, and then gave it up in submission to the one true
path. i get so much out of debian, and, still, i know that i'm not yet
getting anywhere near as much as it has to offer.
on the one hand, i feel sorry for mr. dumbass--what was his name? the beer is
free, but he wasn't happy with that. on the other hand, i think, hey, maybe
he'll find a cure and make it back here before he loses too much time being
the way he is, now. the great thing about this list is that we can
simultaneously wish the other os lusers the best on their way and still
welcome them back, should they ever show up again. the good thing about mr.
d's outburst is that it gives me the opportunity to muse on how great debian
is, and on how much i appreciate the work of the developers and maintainers,
and all the help i've had from the list. as much as i try no to, i can't help
but pity the fool who misses the point of what we have here. elitist? what a
load. this is the most democratic place i know. the world should be like this.
ben
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