at the temporal coordinates: 3/28/02 3:56 PM, the entity known as Judy Perry
at jperryl_at_ecs.fullerton.edu conveyed the following:
>
> On Thu, 28 Mar 2002, Eric L. Strobel wrote:
>
>> I think the only thing that REALLY was wrong was that someone got overly
>> sensitive about the subject line of the monthly FAQ reminder. If the "(or
>> somewhere else)" were changed to "(or these other sources)", then this whole
>> thread might never have gotten going.
>
> But, surely you can see that it is easy to do (get overly sensitive) when
> the monthly "Read the FAQ" is sent (I didn't know, for example, that it
> had a deliberate frequency) especially if it happens shortly after you,
> the clueless newbie, have just posted your first tentative plea for help
> (indeed, I had thought that one such monthly posting all but had my name
> on it).
>
> I'm not saying that anyone intended to make people feel this way, only
> that, in some cases, that it is the predictable response.
>
Actually, that response wouldn't have occurred to me in a million years, but
then I've been on the Internet in one form or another for about 20 years.
In the early days, probably every single person got the obligatory RTFM
snipe. Then they found out where the newsgroup kept the FAQ and all was
well. Just my viewpoint, but I figure I'm not responsible for the tone of
someone else's answer. If they're upset by my (rudimentary) question,
that's their problem, not mine. I only control how I go about things from
then on.
But, obviously, some folk ARE that intimidated by asking questions online.
And if it's easily possible, something should be done to make the process of
learning even gentler than it currently is. At some point, though, it's
unreasonable to expect someone to sit down and try to imagine every possible
way someone could misinterpret some wording.
- Eric.
--Eric Strobel (fyzycyst_at_NOSPAM^mailaps.org)
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