Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 09:50:55 -0800 From: David Benfell <co@trek.parts-unknown.org> To: Tyler Gee <geekout@gmail.com> Cc: freebsd-newbies@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Time to shut down this list? Message-ID: <20041223175055.GA12547@parts-unknown.org> In-Reply-To: <6e01203b04122309064e682e1c@mail.gmail.com> References: <20041223163352.50460.qmail@web61202.mail.yahoo.com> <6e01203b04122309064e682e1c@mail.gmail.com>
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On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 10:06:43 -0700, Tyler Gee wrote: > > I think if you get rid of -newbies you are going to see a lot of > people too scared to ask questions which means they risk moving away > from FreeBSD or you are going to see -questions inundated with > questions that will annoy people who don't want to deal with questions > that newbies tend to have. > >From what I've seen, this about covers the problem. Because RTFM is far too common a response on support lists. Another common response is no response at all. I have to qualify my comments here by saying I haven't paid enough specific attention to these lists to differentiate between the responses in the FreeBSD community from those of say, the OpenBSD or Linux communities. RTFM (Read The F* Manual) is an inadequate response, because 1) it is not always clear what information is needed, 2) it is not always clear where that information can be found, 3) the information is often presented in a format which is suitable for experienced users who are well-prepared for the various technical nuances, but not for people who are in over their heads, and 4) it is an arrogant and offensive response. I've been working with UNIX-like operating systems since 1998. Before that, in ancient history, I was a programmer/analyst, primarily on DEC PDP-11 RSTS/E systems, where I programmed in BASIC-PLUS, BASIC-PLUS-2, FORTRAN-IV, and PDP-11 MACRO Assembly language. I reveled in (and still miss) TECO. But having burned out as a programmer then, computers are, to me, very much means to several ends. They are *not* ends, in and of themselves. But in the meantime, things have gotten a lot more complicated. What required full-time effort to understand in my day, is a pale shadow of what must be understood today. And so, even after all this time, I still have "stupid" questions, questions which apparently do not merit a response on the several technical support lists I am subscribed to, or which earn condescending RTFM responses. Technical culture has retained--this is nothing new--an arrogance which finds fulfillment in the abuse of those who understand less about these systems and may actually have lives outside their laptops. And so the FreeBSD community, like other similarly-situated communities has a choice: Its members can choose, as is traditional, to use their knowledge and skill to boost their own egos, or they can use it to reach out to others. One path leads to a smaller community, and the other leads to a larger community. Which do you want? -- David Benfell, LCP benfell@parts-unknown.org --- Resume available at http://www.parts-unknown.org/resume.html
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