At 15:39 11/06/2014 -1000, Rochelle Noname wrote:
If this forum is to be a meaningful source of shared knowledge, no
matter what skill level or ability the poster has, there must be
respect and decorum. If a poster has a question to ask, there may
be many others seeking the same or similar solution. If you can't
contribute to the body of knowledge, then don't reply at all.
Allowing such remarks is off putting to others, enough to prevent
someone from future contributions or asking of help.
What you say is, of course, entirely true. But I suggest it's
misplaced. Mr Groenescheij can speak for himself - indeed, he already
has - but are you right to castigate him for writing either "You
can't fill a 10 liter bucket with 11 liter water" or "what you try to
do is driving a screw in the wall with a hammer"? These expression
are surely perfectly sensible metaphors meaning respectively "You are
attempting the impossible" and "You are using the wrong tool for the
task", both respectable opinions - and notably directed at the
questioner's technique, not personally at the questioner himself.
If someone is making his own life difficult by using an inappropriate
tool for a task, there is no disrespect in pointing this out. Indeed,
it is a kindness and a courtesy to do so. Questioners should
appreciate that no disrespect is meant and consider the possibility
that they might go about their task another way. (It remains their
choice, of course.) You mention that others may be seeking a solution
to a similar problem; they too, of course, may equally be helped by
such advice.
But you are completely right about the need for "respect and decorum".
Brian Barker
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