Re: what's up with all the attitude
On Mon, Nov 06, 2006 at 06:04:33PM -0600, Bud Rogers wrote:
> On Monday 06 November 2006 16:51, Roberto C. Sanchez wrote:
> > On Mon, Nov 06, 2006 at 10:10:34AM -0500, Kamaraju Kusumanchi wrote:
> > > On Monday 06 November 2006 10:02, Greg Folkert wrote:
> > > > Couple of lists I am on, the matter of factly answers are all
> > > > RTFM with exact locations and nothing else.
> > >
> > > If that is the case, the developers need to rewrite the manual in a
> > > way which is understood by others. The content is probably OK but
> > > may need reorganization. Getting RTFM questions does not always
> > > mean that the reader is/was lazy to search for answers...
> >
> > Many of the "first reply" messages by Tom Eastep on the
> > shorewall-users mailing list are a URL and little else. After having
> > seen this for while I see that it is a good approach. In fact, many
> > of the "second reply" messages from the users are something like "oh,
> > I didn't see that" or "I did not read closely enough."
>
> I don't think much of those who swing RTFM around like a club. I don't
> think that's ever helpful.
You don't need to hit things with a stick. You can also point the way
with it.
>
> I started Linux with Slackware 0.99. It's not likely that I would have
> even got to the point of a bootable system, and almost certain that I
> never would have become a convert, if it hadn't been for the patient
> help of a very capable teacher. jjohn was system administrator at a
> local ISP. He introduced me to Linux in general and Slackware in
> particular. He held my hand when I needed it, and answered a lot of
> stupid newbie questions.
>
> Invariably, he would give me a short answer first. "Oh, you just need
> to do X." or "You might have a problem with Y. Here's what I would
> do." Then he would add, "If you want to know why, this
> HOWTO/webpage/manpage will tell you all about it."
And pointing the way is exactly what he did.
>
> In most cases, his first suggestion, X or Y, fixed my immediate problem
> and got me past another hurdle. My confidence bolstered by a quick
> fix, I was all the more interested in reading the recommended
> documentaion to find out why and how it worked. In fairly short
> order, looking back on it now, I went from the original clueless newbie
> to a fairly confident Slack user. I owe a debt I can never repay to
> jjohn. I've been trying to pay it forward ever since.
>
> --
> Bud Rogers <budr@netride.net> KD5SZ
>
>
>
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