to newcomers: please try to solve the problem yourself before asking

[Edward Croft]

On Sat, 2004-09-11 at 09:39, Alex White wrote:
> <Snip for brevity>
> I hardly think that it was necessary to snap in that manner; which
> is blatantly offensive. Marius didn't say anything insulting in the
> slightest. However, people's perceptions are what turn issues into
> topics of debate or offense.
> 
> It does help to at least make the attempt to solve the problem your
> self. Newbies (such as myself) that take the time to at least try a
> fix can then have a more complete dialog while attempting to convey
> to a guru/old hat what problem they are having, what error they are
> getting. This allows people that -can- help -to- help, without
> asking 400 questions about "are you aware of what hardware you're
> using, if so, you didn't see the first 47 entries that are spit out
> of a google search on 'Linux <insert hardware here> <insert error
> message>'?"
> 
> I myself have asked questions without fully researching, and felt 10
> IQ points dumber for not having searched google first. As an aside I
> think part of the problem with not finding help in google is the
> inability of most people on the planet to effectively search it. Of
> course reading helps with that too. *shrugs* Anyhow, my yen on the
> matter. ^_^
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Alex White
> 
> - --
Alex, indeed, Renee's comments were a bit harsh, but given that there
are a few on this list who seem to jump down a newbies throat when they
don't google, check the archives, etc. Suppose the newbie doesn't know
about Google. Maybe I am an old guru who has nothing better to do than
answer newbie questions when I have the time, but I will answer the
question and offer google as a resource in the future. My ex used to
complain that she had to tell my kids something 100 times. I used to
tell her that it is their job to ask questions so as to learn. It is our
job to teach, even if we have to answer the question 101 times. I do it
every day in my job also. It takes patience.