When someone asked for help, it's hard to say what level of expertise they should
have. If it is a newcomer (we were all there at one time), and they ask a basic
question that can be answered by (1) a working example at a web site, such as
www.jollem.com, (2) A book or online tutorial, or (3) the documentation itself (then,
by all means, direct them there). Someone may also be a developer on other
application servers, such as Jboss, Jonas, or OpenEJB. If so, and they ask a
technical question, answer it also, since the rest of us can learn from it. Isn't it
to everyone's benefit to get more people on the J2EE bandwagon? I'm sure Sun would
agree wholeheartedly. And language is not necessary a barrier to their intellectual
capacity. I have a friend who is Greek, has trouble with the English language
(despite being in this country for several years), but has advanced degrees from the
University of Chicago and Oxford.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ervin Jakab [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2000 6:09 AM
To: Orion-Interest
Subject: Re: to boldly go where no man has gone before
Dear list members,
I am just a nobody on this list, and in this world. But I have to point out
some things, before this language problem becomes too inflated.
First of all, what is the purpose of this list? I think (I didn't check,
shame on me!) that it should provide a means of communication and support
among all developers who use Orion for learning or for production. I belong
to the first group, and I think so do many of us. We learn from you, the
Developers who use Orion, and J2EE in your everyday work. We know less than
you do, and we certainly should be punished for asking a question which has
an obvious answer in a spec or in Orion docs.
However, I feel that a person should not be punished for not speaking
English correctly. You could have done so, only if there had been an
alternative German language list which is not the case. We are fortunate to
be able to speak English at a high level. I would be happy to be able to say
the same things about my German proficiency. I think Karsten's English is
not really a problem. What you are doing here is somehow a xenophobe and
club-style behavior, sending out the message: "you cannot join us until you
improve your English!". I thought this list was about Orion and helping each
other...
You could have simply asked Karsten: "What do you mean? I did not understand
what exactly your problem was."
I apologize for my bad English and for wasting your precious time, oh, you
Developer Gods!
Ervin Jakab
