Date: Mon, 04 Oct 1999 00:52:36 -0700 From: Darryl Okahata <darrylo@sr.hp.com> To: freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Developer assessment (was Re: A bike shed ...) Message-ID: <199910040752.AAA13118@mina.sr.hp.com>
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> There is no sense in wasting the time of one informed developer to help
> one uninformed developer; this is a bad tradeoff unless the uninformed
> developer is showing signs of promise. The only way to assess this is
> to look at the questions they ask and the context they're asking them
> from. Nobody wants to answer one obvious question if there's any
> chance at all that the questioner will latch onto them and demand
> answers for dozens more - this isn't "helping someone", it's "doing
> their work for free".
[ Drifting away .... ]
Yes, there are utterly clueless newbie hordes, many of whom should
be ignored or maybe even shunned. Unfortunately, due to the nature of
email/news, it's often difficult or impossible to distinguish clueless
newbie peons from a novice uninitiated potential contributor. The
problem with email/news is that postings are often short/terse, and the
nature of email/news is such that one doesn't have access to unconcious
communication cues such as voice tone or body language. Don't
underestimate the importance of tone or body language. It's a very
important part of person-to-person communication, and it's often
difficult to properly communicate without it. In the case of someone we
know, we use our knowledge about that person to put email/postings into
perspective. However, in case of people we don't know, we only have
only the (often terse) message by which to judge them. In the case of
the FreeBSD groups, many postings appear to be judged "ignorable newbie
crud"; while most of them are, some aren't, and it's just too easy to
classify a perfectly honest question as "ignorable newbie crud" or
"flamebait tinder".
I'm saying all this because I've recently seen some disturbing
trends in the various FreeBSD lists:
[ Side note: I've been following various FreeBSD lists since June 1995,
and so I'm not some idiot newcomer spewing at the mouth. ]
1. Instant escalation. Example: supplicant A asks question in FreeBSD
group. Some FreeBSD contributor says, "RTFM", and does not give any
useful information whatsoever like which "FM" or even a vague area.
Supplicant A asks for more information, said FreeBSD contributor
insults supplicant A for being clueless newbie crud and flamefest
results.
Lesson: if you can't say anything nice, don't say it at all. Look at
it this way: you won't have wasted your time, your blood pressure
will be lower, and you won't look stupid for having stooped to
insults, which also doesn't reflect well upon the FreeBSD
contributors.
Lesson 2: if you are going to answer a question, at least give some
minimally-useful information. Don't say "RTFM" unless the FM in
question is bloody obvious.
Lesson 3: not everyone thinks like you do. In the FreeBSD-
contributor's defense, I can see how the contributor could maybe have
interpreted the question as coming from clueless newbie crud.
However, it could easily be interpreted as an honest, intelligent
question, also. Try not to make assumptions. Keep in mind that
email/news lacks communication cues like voice tone and body
language.
2. Whatever happened to "three strikes and you're out"? (This is a
useful alternative to "instant escalation".)
If you're going to answer a question, give the person the benefit of
the doubt. Maybe they're "ignorable newbie crud", or maybe they're a
novice uninitiated potential contributor. If you're going to answer
a question, at least give them three chances to prove that they're
ignorable newbie crud; please don't instantly escalate it.
If you can't be bothered with this, then don't answer.
3. Short tempers and thin skins. Recently, it seems that the number of
flamefests involving FreeBSD contributors have increased.
Yes, clueless newbie crud exist. They seemingly appear to breed like
maggots. They exist. Deal with it. Grow up.
If you're tired and irritable -- take a break, or maybe a vacation.
Have fun. Blow off steam.
If you get insulted, at least try to act like a mature, rational
human being.
If you're still having problems, may I suggest that email filters
like deliver(8) or procmail(8) might help?
Please note that I'm not trying to point fingers or anything. What has
happened, has happened. Nothing's going to change that, and pointing
fingers is counterproductive. Personally, I don't care who's at fault,
but I do care about possibly driving away novice uninitiated potential
contributors. Several months back, I attended a conference at which a
Major Linux Personage gave a speech to Linux users and *potential* Linux
users (I won't say who gave the speech, aside that it wasn't Linus).
One of the things mentioned about how Linux was better than FreeBSD, was,
um, the "development process" (and my words are much more charitable
than his). Looking at the current flamefests, and thinking about what
was said by the Major Linux Personage, I'd have to say that there's a
lot of ugly truth there -- and I do really wish he was wrong.
--
Darryl Okahata
darrylo@sr.hp.com
DISCLAIMER: this message is the author's personal opinion and does not
constitute the support, opinion, or policy of Hewlett-Packard, or of the
little green men that have been following him all day.
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