Re: [tdf-discuss] Re: Request: Installation Instructions

On Wed, Nov 24, 2010 at 04:44:42PM -0500, Marc Par� wrote:
> Le 2010-11-24 16:20, Robert Holtzman a écrit :
>
> The best and most practical way is to help them out. The bottom line
> is that we would like every type of individuals to use our office
> suite and to be happy with it. I have yet to be on one "help" list
> or help forum where this question has not been asked and the best
> approach has always been to be courteous and help out. It always
> leave the user grateful and satisfied.

One of the best ways to help them out would be to (gently, if that makes
you feel better) instruct them that it is customary to do a modicum of
research and try what's found before posting a question to a list. Also,
the post should include the standard information, s/w version, OS, etc.
If you have been participating in mail lists for very long, I'm
surprised you don't recommend this yourself. 

> Let's not assume that they can't/refuse"won't make an effort to
> learn and just help them out. After all, they are here for help.
>
> If there are too many of these individuals on our help lists, then I
> would say that our help list has internal problems that need to be
> addressed. This would be more of our problem than theirs.

This might be true if the contributors to the list were paid employees
or if the posters were paying for help. In that case pandering to lazy
users with an infuriating sense of entitlement might be excused because
one does not piss off a paying customer. The truth is, however, that the
contributors are unpaid volunteers who hang here from altruistic
motives and as such are entitled to the respect of not having their time
wasted trying to guess the problem from incomplete questions. 

This may have little to do with installation instructions but it
addresses the flavor I'm getting from some of the messages that *all*
users should be catered to and the clueless ones not be guided into the
right way to ask questions but be tolerated and spoon fed. I have
nothing against clueless users. That's how everyone starts out but, I
remember being guided (sometimes not so gently) in how to ask questions.
I'm not advocating *all* noobs become proficient sysadmins but running a
few simple searches and trying a few things is a far cry from that.

As far as I'm concerned there is too much of what I call the servant
mentality on this list. I don't find nearly as much on any of the other
lists I'm involved with, including the ubuntu-users and firefox-support
lists which get their share of newly minted users who barely know how to
turn their computer on. 

Feel free to disagree with me but that's my take on these things. 

-- 
Bob Holtzman
Key ID: 8D549279
"If you think you're getting free lunch,
 check the price of the beer"

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