Phobos,
It amazes me how some people think they are ENTITLED to help from folk who
post in here.
I like to give people the benefit of doubt that they just don't realize
that we do this because we enjoy it. I think that some posters are under
the impression that we get paid to do this (and therefore are "deserving"
of an answer). As for this OP, being fairly new to the ng, I think he just
didn't approach it the right way (the benefit of the doubt).
A little clarification for the OP (or anyone else that happens upon this
thread).
When you ask multiple questions in the same post, you limit yourself to
people who can answer "all" of the questions in your post. Taken one at
a time, you'd get a plethora of responses from many different respondents.
It's up to you to get them to all work together (but, yes, we'll help with
that too).
Over the past few years I've noticed this attitude more often
All I can say is give them the benefit of the doubt. Point them to Chip's
and Dave's pages for new posters and continue on.
it's one of the reasons I don't bother responding to many posts any more
The only person that loses with that attitude is yourself (see below).
Why should I give of my own time to help people who can't be bothered to do
anything for themselves if they are not going to appreciate it?
As much as we say that we do this for free, we really don't. Yes, we do get
satisfaction out of helping someone we don't even know and it is nice when
we do get a "thank you" but I think that we all do it to keep ourselves
sharp
and to increase (or enhance) our knowledge in Excel. I have learned a lot
by asking questions in these ng's but I've learned an awful lot more by
trying to respond to other peoples questions.
You are always going to run into people like this OP (James), whose
only mistake was in the way he posted his question. You'll run into many
others (who you'll "know" you've helped) but won't take the time to thank
you for your efforts, but by responding, you'll either have learned
something
new or reinforced something that you already knew and in the long run,
you'll be better off for it.
I think I'm up to three cents (maybe 4) now,
John