> I have been watching this list for a few weeks now. And the people on
> here are the most un-helpful people I have seen. Your typical answer to a
> question is man this or man that.
When I first signed up to this list, I wondered why people didn't just
give answers, then I realized: It gets very, very tiring answering the
same question day after day, especially when the information is very easily
obtainable in other areas. Simply shoveling out information does a
disservice to the asker, the responder, the list member, and the world at
large:
1. The asker. By simply shoveling out information, you are reinforcing
several erroneous and harmful ideas:
A) Reading the supplied documentation is not necessary.
B) Making some effort to search for the answer yourself is not
necessary (Do you know how many questions here can be answered by "go to
www.qmail.org"?)
C) Signing up to a mailing list and asking a question without even
reading the FAQ is how things should be done.
D) Simply making a quick-fix without knowing how it works is just
dandy.
2) The responder. It drives most of us insane typing out the same reply
day after day on "How do I restrict relaying?".
3) The list member. Do you sign up to a list to see the same questions
answered three or four times per day?
4) The world at large. This is for two reasons. First, we consume
bandwidth and storage space answering questions that could have easily been
answered by going to www.qmail.org. Second, those questions drive many of
us insane. Would you rather we went out in the street and started shooting
with a high-pwoered rifle, or that we simply tell the person where to find
the information for themselves?
> And yes I understand that there are people
> that don't read the docs, but this list is typical of linux
> users/administrators in that you reply in a very curt sort, "I don't have
> the time for you because you are not as smart as me" way.
That attitude isn't at all typical of linux administrators, it's typical
of a fewhigh-profile Unix programmers (who shall remain nameless). Then,
the "Ooh, I want to be cool like {Insert High-Profile Name}" people try to
emulate it. Most of the Linux community realizes that without cooperation
and education, they're doomed to fail. I try to walk the middle ground and
say "Well, here's an excellent resource where you can learn how to do what
you need to." You'd be surprised at the differences in attitude between
comp.os.linux and comp.lang.perl or comp.lang.c.
>Frankly I don't have the time
> to search though hundreds of emails in the archive, so I'll ask my
question.
That's certainly an erroneous attitude. By searching the archive, you
can have an answer in minutes. By asking the list, you're at the mercy of
other people's time and fancies. I'd rather spend 5 to 10 minutes
searching an archive than waiting half a day for someone else to
respond....
> sendmail and exchange. Rather then chastise people for asking questions
you
> should be happy they are showing an interest
And teach them how to teach themselves.
> in one of the non-mainstream
> products and not just taking the easy way out.
QMail is mainstream. Microsoft proved that when they tried to convert
HotMail to NT, and their engineers admitted that they simply could not do
it, and that moving back to QMail was the best thing to do.
steve
