Re: List intolerance VS advocacy

["Robert Schwartz" <robert@mrsquirrel.com>]

What intolerance is everyone talking about?  In my years of using
OpenBSD and participating (err... lurking? learnding?) on this list I
haven't seen many responses that were "flames".

For example:
NOT A FLAME
I can't get OpenBSD to install, what should I do?
RTFM!

example 2:
FLAME
OpenBSD won't install it's a sack of fscking crap!  I'm going back to
LINUX!
Go to hell you moron, you and all your family deserve to have your pants
filled with rabid weasels!

Example 2 is a flame, but a well deserved one.  Example 1 isn't a flame,
it's the answer to the horribly asked question.  It's the BEST answer to
the horribly asked question.

Here's an idea: Instead of getting touchy feely kindergarten nice on
this list how about the posters take responsibility for their questions
and the ire they might evoke.  Sure it's a risk to ask a question,
people might be rude, ignore you, laugh at you, tell you that its a
cranial anal inversion, or not be able to help.  Worst case scenario you
press delete on the reply and that's that.  I know that there are people
out there that will reply to me off list telling me what an a$$ I am for
posting my opinion here now, but I can deal with that (I am an a$$ so
it's no biggie).

Last point, someone mentioned today (I'm afraid to cut the text of the
message with the top-posting cops out in force today -- jk) that it
would be pretty useless to have a teacher tell you "the information is
in the library" without telling you what book it's in.  Well... sorry
but you're wrong!...  the best thing in that case is to learn HOW TO USE
A CARD CATALOG (or a new-fangled computer thingy).  The skills that help
most aren't the "how-to's" but the "how's".

To paraphrase the parable of the hungry villager: give a newbie a
command and he's got code today.  Teach a newbie where the commands are
and he'll have code until he types "rm -r /" ...