The reason I was first attracted to this list was because of an article, announcing its launch (and that of the perl beginners list), in which the general theme was that for too long, newcomers to Perl had been subjected to "RTFM" in response to pleas for help. The lists were being set up to provide a friendly and inviting atmosphere in which to get and give help.
In fact, in the FAQ for this list we have: "2.1 - What is the list for? A list for beginning Perl programmers to ask questions in a friendly atmosphere. " "2.3 - Are there any rules? Yes. As with most communities, there are rules. Not many, and ones that shouldn't need to be mentioned, but they are. * Be nice * No flaming * Have fun" and "2.6 - Is there anything I should keep in mind while answering? We don't want to see 'RTFM'. That isn't very helpful. Instead, guide the beginner to the place in the FM they should R :)" I find it disturbing to see these guidelines being ignored by people who should know better - people who have a lot of respect within the Perl community. Such messages as (excerpted): "Bleh! why does this program keep getting brought up?" "PLEASE STOP RECOMMENDING THIS PROGRAM. PLEASE POINT PEOPLE TO THE FAQ WHICH DETAILS THIS." and "So, you're making money using a product that thousands have contributed to, providing the source code so that hundreds of others can adapt it and fix it as they see fit, and yet you want to squander that by locking up *your* application? require 'standard/open_source_is_good-speech.pl'; Don't expect much help *here*." This kind of "ill-tempered" response does this list (nor the respondent) no favors at all. Regards, Graham Gudgin -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
