Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 10:33:16 -0400 From: Bill Moran <wmoran@potentialtech.com> To: Jerry McAllister <jerrymc@clunix.cl.msu.edu> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Overly brief answers (was Re: Terminal Server) Message-ID: <20040621103316.1876a89f.wmoran@potentialtech.com> In-Reply-To: <200406211411.i5LEBhU07321@clunix.cl.msu.edu> References: <20040621092744.571f93db.wmoran@potentialtech.com> <200406211411.i5LEBhU07321@clunix.cl.msu.edu>
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Jerry McAllister <jerrymc@clunix.cl.msu.edu> wrote: > > > > Nico Meijer <nico.meijer@zonnet.nl> wrote: > > > > > Hi Mike, > > > > > > > Can FreeBSD act like Windows Terminal Server, i.e. remote access, multiple > > > > sessions? > > > > > > Yes. > > > > I wanted to start a brief discussion about these kinds of answers to > > questions. > > > > I've been seeing this quite a bit lately. I don't know if it's just one > > person, > > of if multiple folks have picked up on it. > > > > <opinion> > > This is not an answer to the question. It does not answer the question > > and does > > not contribute to the OPs knowledge of FreeBSD, nor does it contribute to the > > list archives. It's also a violation of the rule against "me too" answers as > > laid out in "How to Get the Best Results from FreeBSD-Questions". It doesn't > > even serve to educate the OP on how to ask better questins. > > on the issue of the _short_ answer; In the case of this question, it is > probably obvious that the poster needed more useful information - at least > a pointer to some info. Then, it looks bad to just give a smart alec yes > or whatever other less than useful reply. I'm wondering if these short "yes" answers aren't all smart-alec, but some of them are possibly an attempt to answer before anyone else. I know, I've seen a question I could answer, made sure it hasn't already been answered (to avoid unnecessary list traffic) then crafted a carefully worded, helpful answer, only to find 5 others appear at the same time as mine. Kind of makes one feel like he's wasting his time. But it's not an excuse to send terse, essentally useless answers. > But, some of these questions - is FreeBSD really free, etc get frustrating > because it is obvious that the poster didn't even read the first page of > the web site let alone try and look for an answer. So, a few of the > posted questions deserve a mere yes or no answer. I disagree, as Grog's document clearly states: "if you can't think of anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" and I consider that list policy. I understand your frustration. As someone who's donated a bit to the doc project, and can only _imagine_ how much effort others have put in to the high-quality docs that FreeBSD has, I get annoyed when people won't read it as well. But I just suck it up and either post a pointer to the docs, or delete it without answering. > - this from someone who could more often be accused of giving excessively > long answers to even simple questions... > > ////jerry > > > > > First off, there are actually two questions hidden in the post: "Can FreeBSD > > act as a WTS?", and "can FreeBSD provide the same services as WTS?" Is "yes" > > your answer to both of them? Because, if it is, I'd like to know which > > software allows it to function as a WTS, since my searches have not found any > > such software. > > > > This leads to the implied question of "what software provides the capability" > > which (despite not being voice, directly) is pretty obvious. You've totally > > ignored that question. You could say that "technically, he didn't ask" but it > > boils down to just being rude. > > </opinion> > > > > I'm curious as to whether this is only my opinion, or if others feel the same > > way. I don't think answers like this reflect well on FreeBSD or the FreeBSD > > community. Short answers like "see 'man foo'" are appropriate, as they impart > > some knowledge and tell the OP that his question is answered in the indicated > > documentation, but this doesn't follow that template. > > > > I do feel that, althought Grog's document doesn't specifically chastise these > > types of answers, that they are _not_ in the "spirit" of that document, and do > > not serve the purpose of this mailing list. > > > > -- > > Bill Moran > > Potential Technologies > > http://www.potentialtech.com > > _______________________________________________ > > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" > > > > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" -- Bill Moran Potential Technologies http://www.potentialtech.com
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