how to NOT get much help on a mailing list

[Patrick O'Callaghan]

On Wed, 2008-03-26 at 22:07 +1030, Tim wrote:
> Wrong:  Send a message with a stupid subject line that doesn't give
>         anybody any reason to read your message.  What the hell is
>         "Is it really OK" supposed to refer to?
> Right:  Write your subject in a way that accurately, and succinctly,
>         describes your message.
> 
> Wrong:  Hijack a thread by replying to something completely different.
> Right:  Start a new message.  Use that feature in your mail client that
>         actually says to create a new message.  If your message is not
>         a reply to a message, then do NOT use the reply feature of a
>         mail client.
> 
> Wrong:  Lose your message in the middle of someone else's thread by
>         hijacking a thread.
> Right:  Start a new message for a new thread.  See above.
> 
> Wrong:  Ignore advice you receive, and argue with people advising you.

Wrong: Ask "Package foo doesn't work. Why?"
Right: Ask "Package foo under KDE on an i386 hangs/crashes/gives an
error message"

poc