On 6/10/05, -f <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > dear list, > > a nice cup of coffee in front of me, and as a big fan of > robert x., let me reflect a bit on the phenomenon called > "misc@openbsd.org"... will try to keep it short. > > > a couple of days ago, there was a quite big thread about optimized > kernel builds. the caller had a point (all of us do, no matter how > insignificant) but some of the answers were rude, childish and much > more trollish than the actual post itself. that thread made > me quite disgusted of misc@, the way people treat each other here. >
I've been treated pretty damn good on this list. Maybe it's because I read docs and list archives, and other things that OpenBSD requests you do before posting to THEIR list. If you break the rules, you will be punished. Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer, etc... > > i am a teacher. i have a degree in "teaching computer science". > when you learn to be a teacher, you must sign up to basic > psychology classes. obviously. teachers are role models. > obviously. i don't teach at the moment, and i am not sure > i will. i have found the fact that some of the kids will > form habits, opinions, god-knows-what-else based on my > personality quite scary and too big a responsibility. > for now anyway. Please never teach. If you feel that kids will not become better people when you teach, make sure you never do (I wish more teachers did this). > > but i am also what some might call nerd/geek (blech) and am > very familiar with the social implications of that. > What social implications of that? I've probaby been called a nerd/geek by many people, however I wouldn't say my social life is lacking in any way, and I'm very happy with where my life is going. Don't let other people's stereo-types affect how you feel about yourself. Again, don't teach ever. > > > what people here mostly fail to realize is, how impersonal > the internet really is. 99% of you don't know how old i am, > how do i look like, what's my life like. same is true from > my side towards you. > I think almost everyone here realizes that, because it was never personal. It's just that, well, it's blatently obvious, so no one feels the need to even talk about it... > > <thesis> > my point is, that you could be affecting(flaming) a developing > personality, a 13 year old kid who just happens to be very > intelligent, just installed the system and hurries off to the > mailing list to satisfy his knowledge hunger without realizing > all the mailing list nuances we see everyday (top posting, > long signatures, not reading the documentation beforehand, > posting the "taboo" questions). you just never know. > (well, except darren reed ;-) > </thesis> If a 13yo kid is so fragile that some random, unknown person who he/she has never seen, said something that upset him/her, and it stiffles his/her thirst for knowledge, then he/she has other issues that need to be solved, asap. It's not my job to protect their fragile minds. > > it's all about experience. there is a baby born every second, > and no one was born wise. Again, blantently obvious, so why the hell did you even feel the need to mention it? However there are many wise people, and they got where they are today through a lot of tought times I'm sure. I've been told I was stupid so many times, didn't stop me from learning. On the contrary, it made me want to learn more, read more, etc... I didn't go crying to mommy every time someone told me something I didn't like. That's life, get used to it. > > everyone who uses email for more than 5 years knows just how > elusive this form of communication is. how easy it is to > misunderstand, misinterpret even a clearly worded email. > > <advice> > 1. if a mail makes you angry, never respond rightaway. > in the best case, sleep on it. in the worst case, go do > something else, come back in an hour, read it again carefully > and then respond. Acting too quickly on some things can be dangerous yes, however for this mailing list specifically, all these stupid questions people ask have been asked so many times before, so now the OpenBSD guys know exactly what to say, as each time they say it, the answer gets a little better. Read please, just freakin' read the docs, that's what they're there for. > > 2. if a mail makes you angry, in 85% of all cases, you should > just delete it, and forget about it. i am quite amazed > how hard it is for people to ignore stuff. you must exercise > your ignore muscle. saves awful lot of time and energy. > (i know, this mail is the opposite of this advice, but i slept > on it ;-) Sounds like, don't feed the trolls. Are you saying that these kids asking stupid questions repeatedly are trolls? That's not what you were saying before. > > 3. never assume that you are writing to an intelligent adult > person. If someone asks a stupid question that's been asked sooo many times, I definetly wouldn't assume that. > > 4. remember that email is archived and one day you might read > what you wrote years ago. you know, shame and stuff. I'm not ashamed of telling someone that they need to read. I wish more people would, and I'll tell every damn person that asks a repeated question to read the damn docs. > > 5. a whole planet could be reading what you wrote. you represent > your family, upbringing, country, etc, and last but not least > yourself. I hope the whole planet reads that they should read stuff before asking questions. This would save a lot of time and money. And I hope they associate my family with having common sense like I do, I think it would put a better light on some of my family members. > > 6. chill out and relax. as one of my taglines say: > "good words cost no more than bad." Telling someone to stop being stupid and read docs is good advice in my opinon, you see it as flaming and destroying childrens' minds. > </advice> > > peace, > -f > > ps. musical background for this mail provided by two lone swordsman and > arovane > -- > en taro adun > > Please read. Nothing is more important than knowledge gained through work. You appreciate it more, and will remember it easier, as apposed to being spoon fed by asking stupid, repeated questions all the time. Who knows, you might even learn something you weren't intending to learn. I've learned more on accident than I have on purpose, and I'm a much better person for it. Jason
