at the temporal coordinates: 3/28/02 4:09 PM, the entity known as Judy Perry
at jperryl_at_ecs.fullerton.edu conveyed the following:
>
> Not to start a platform flamefest here, but this sounds mightily like why
> PC users are so much more 'informed' about their computers than Mac users,
> because the former must climb this horrendous mountain in order to use
> them whereas Mac users simply get stuff done without having to worry about
> how the thing was put together.
>
> Obviously a huge series of exaggerations here, but, as with my desktop &
> laptop, a palm-top device doesn't simplify my life much if I have to
> expend a semester's worth of efforts just learning how to install files.
> Again, not a comment directed towards anyone on the list, simply an
> observation that using a computing device to do something should be
> *easier* than not using one...
>
Skimming the FAQ for a feel of what's in there only takes a few minutes.
Googling and/or searching the list archives doesn't take very long either.
And personally, I'd love to see more posts like "I was trying to find the
answer, but I'm not sure what words to search on."
The learning curve here is, for any given question, shortened to minutes as
opposed to spending hours hoping to find an answer by poking around through
various Newt sites. Or even waiting for a response on the list. I don't
know how many times I've asked a question, and while waiting for an answer
tried a different phrase while searching and answered my own question. So,
we're not talking about a "semester's worth of effort" at all.
>
>> OTOH, I think that encouraging newbies to learn to problem solve on their
>> own is a *GOOD* thing, not laziness. Yes, there may be some folks on the
>> list that need to rethink how they word such encouragement. But climbing
>> the learning curve is not always easy or quick, and it can be frustrating,
>> but the result is a much more thorough knowledge.
>
- Eric.
--Eric Strobel (fyzycyst_at_NOSPAM^mailaps.org)
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