Malke said:
Not enough information to get focused help. See the "How to Post" links
below.
It's clear enough that those instructions were written by people who are
ABLE to give all that detail. What isn't clear is how you are supposed to
be able, as a non-expert, to give all of them or how to do it in a short
and brief way as they say you should.
Equally unhelpful is the instruction to spend a long time reading (lurking
on) a newagroup so you can present a question in a way no resident genius
will bitch about. If one were to subscribe to all the coinceivable news
groups one might possibly need to get help from for possible problems in
the future he or she might need there would be no time to do anything but
read newsgroups.
Alternatively, many, perhaps most people have some problem smack them in
the face and they go hunting for a place to get help NOW.
A point in those instructions say you shouldn't offend the residents or be
offended. I've often wondered why so many residents are in such a big
hurry to offend someone who needs help. Many newsgroups have a compliment
of sour gurus who specialize in chewing on someone's leg if they don't
post expertly enough for their tastes. In other words, someone's computer
smacks them in the face, then someone online takes it upon themselves to
smack them in the face again.
I'm no expert, genius or guru, but I've been around a long time and I know
that if someone posts a long message detailing all the problems and
characteristics he can dream up, trying to fulfill the "be complete" rule
the post will, like as not, be skipped because it is too long. And, for
that matter, rightlky so, because the greater majority of even accurate
information is not actually needed.
I've been on a very few newsgroups that are MOST helpful, because the
residents act just like doctors. They ask questions that lead to the
needed level of clearness. On such newsgroups I've gotten the strong
impression that things went faster that way because no one was pouring out
useless descriptions and information.
Malke, you were civil enough. I'm not attacking you. But I do very much
wonder why there aren't a bunch of sites telling gurus and genuises that
THEY shouldn't offend (attack) the NON-residents as is often done.
Lastly I'll make a point about something I've observed for many years.
Smart people know how hard it is for people who aren't smart. But for the
most part, as general intelligence or genius increases the ability to
grasp the difficulties of people who aren't that brilliant begins to
approach zero. (Their rudeness is most often in inverse proportion to the
square of that.)
JimL
