Why newbies don't RTFM... 4753

notbob

I never not demanded anything, nor do I ever feel enbreastled to anything. As for time and effort, I've spent more than a week just trying to learn how to get some very basic things to work correctly in linux. Not only am I not enbreastled to help, neither are you or anyone else required to give it if you do not wish to. If you do not wish to answer a question posed by a newbie trying to learn, it is not necessary to do so. Neither is it necessary to rant against the unfortunate newbie who knows less than you. Fortunately there are other linux newsgroups on the web where experts are more likely to try to help instead of telling the newbie how stupid he is for not figuring it out himself. Incidentally several experienced linux users have still not succeeded in solving a few of the problems I am having despite their knowledge of linux, so sometimes things just do not work the way they should in linux.

Why automatically buttume that newbies have not done so. I have more bookmarks of such linux websites that I have visited and studied than you can shake a whatever at. Such sites describe standard procedures but sometimes the situation encountered is not standard and therefore more help may be needed. (Before you attack my I.Q. as I am sure you will resort to, I probably have higher education degrees than you do and am a recognized expert in my field).

I never criticized nor demanded that experts be forthcoming with their knowledge. I just asked why the other newbie (the one who started this thread) who was making suggestions as to how linux might be more successful and explaining the viewpoint of a newbie, why he had to be insulted and called a "f***ing ...." just because he did not know the answer to a linux question.

I totally agree that nobody was obligated to provide him the information he asked about, but neither did they need to berate him for asking. On some newsgroups, members help graciously, on others, they berate the newbie. The former is appreciated by the newbie and helps him learn.

I will accept that is your view on OSs. But I do not think that is necessarily true, especially as computers get more and more powerful. Indeed I think linux is rapidly moving in a direction which will both make it more user friendly and still efficient in the very near future - with command mode available for those who wish it and easier access for those who need it till they become more proficient.

My own comment was simply that nobody needs to help if they do not wish to but nobody is enbreastled to be insulting just because they know more about something and nobody deserves to be berated because they know less of one subject than someone else.