Asking Smart Questions

[Tom Pancero]

>
>
>Actually, not necessarily.
>
>I'm going to (possibly re-)post here a link to one of my favorite
>documents intended to try to avoid this sort of thing.
>
>It tends to hew a little closer to Mark's point of view (and I'm sure
>he's already read it :-), but since the person reading it isn't known
>to the person who wrote it, it's a little less personal.
>
>It's called "Asking Smart Questions", and it's as applicable in this
>our small world as it is in the big full world.  It was written by Eric
>Raymond, author of "The Cathedral and The Bazaar" and editor of "The
>New Hacker's Dictionary", and while he is an admittedly opinionated
>bastard, he has many god points to make.
>
>Read it.  Learn it.  Live it.
>
>http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
>Cheers,
>-- jra
>  
>
I think y'all are missing a BIG point in this discussion.
There seems to be a lot of haggeling over HOW someone asks for 'HELP'
especially if it does not conform to YOUR standards.

If I see someone bobbing up and down in the water and they are yelling
"HELP!" I do not stand there, Life Preserver in hand, and yell back "Say 
PLEASE!"

After all, which teacher did you learn more from, the one who whacked 
your hand
with a ruler all the time, or the one that nurtured you along and let 
you make a
few mistakes but kept you on the path?

Not everyone who reads this list is as vell versed as the proverbial 
'Next Guy'.

Think about it, what happens, on this list, when someone asks a really basic
(to us) question like 'How do I make it show the date on a report?'

You 'Top_Of_The_Mountain types put a LOT of effort into "Say PLEASE!"

My $0.02 worth.