Just a few words: I do agree totally and its nice to hear someone not
shouting and screaming; all the guys inside this list are doing a great
job!!!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Pj" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, May 19, 2000 12:27 AM
Subject: [expert] OT: Linux Newbie
> Hello List,
>
> My comments are not intended to start a thread or a flame. Please
> contact me privately if you feel compelled to comment.
>
> I am a newbie, a fact I do not hide. I joined this group several months
> ago to learn- when I loaded my very first mdk distro and discovered how
> deep the water is. You have taught me well and for that I am grateful
> and I thank you for your time and patience.
>
> During these months I've watched an ugly metamorphisis take plce. The
> list then was monitored by Mandrake developers and programers. They
> generously took time to respond. The list then was filled with replies
> from some of the brightest minds in the Linux communtity. Combined,
> these folks probably had a million years of *NIX experience they were
> willing to share just for asking. So what happened?
>
> From my vantage point I've seen an erosion not only in the type of
> question but also the attitude. This list was composed of well-mannered
> men and women..what my father would call ladies and gentlemen.
>
> The list slowly changed from a polite demeanor to one of demanding,
> shouting, cursing and temper tantrums. Our Mandrake developers have been
> cussed, discussed and generally trashed because some whiny baby doesn't
> know how to use a new operating system. Thus the fault changed from the
> operator to the program creators. [Speaking for myself I can only say
> that every error message I've seen in Venus, my distro, has been of my
> own making becasue I don't understand the basics yet.]
>
> This list is for Mandrake Experts. It is not a baby-sitting service. No
> one on this list is obligated to answer any question. No one is
> obligated to answer instantly. Your demands, my demands and future
> demands are just that: demands. The gentle members of this list
> frequently ignore these messages as they should.
>
> Lately, I've read a lot of messages with attitude written all over the
> subjet line: "How many times do I have to...?"; "Mandrake Sucks"; "I've
> written x times why ...?". Regardless of content the message is the
> same: I am the most important person on this list and I demand an answer
> right now! Guess what? You aren't the most important person on this
> list. Everyone has equal standing. If you don't have a life, get one.
>
> As far as I have been able to determine there is no perfect operating
> system. Not every piece of hardware made will work on every system. Not
> every piece of software written will work on every system. There are too
> many machine configurations to consider. The advantage of Linux,
> particularly the Mandrake distro, over Winblows is twofold: MUG and
> modules. If *it* doen't work to your satisfaction you can fix *it*
> yourself without waiting months for a patch that fixes your whole
> system. Many times in the past a Mandrake developer would posted a small
> script to fix a particularly thorny problem for one person. I don't see
> this anymore.
>
> To the people who need this list the most, I have some advice: Be
> polite. Please and thank you go a long way toward getting a quick
> response. Be patient. We live in every time zone in the world, please
> take this into consideration as well as the fact that we all have
> private lives. STOP SCREAMING!! It's annoying and a guaranteed way to
> not receive a reply. Stop making demands; it's rude. Admit you don't
> know how to do something and be grateful when you get the answer. We all
> have frustrating issues, don't let it spill into this list.
>
> This MUG is a great group of guys and gals, please help keep it that
> way.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Pj
>
>
