Re: whats going on

On Fri, 28 Jun 2002, dmorgan_at_exesolutions.com wrote:
>> IMO the best method for answering questions that seem lazy, hopeless
>> or just annoy you in some way is the same as when you don't know the
>> answer. Be quiet and don't respond. If you however choose to point
>> them to the documentation, the FAQ, tell them to get a life, or even
>> to actually give a useful answer, fair enough; but don't complain
>> about it as if someone's forcing you to respond. They're not.
>>

> 
> I used to agree with this advice but no longer do. The reason being
> when a question is ignored the poster doesn't know why. 

If understanding why nobody answered the post is important enough to him, then he probably would be the kind of guy who would do the upfront research in the first place and not ask a question which would immediately label him as lazy.

I really have no stake in some unknown person's success. I consider a newsgroup as a sort of dynamic OCP. I'll try to answer when I can help and then I study the answers of others. Selfishly, I'm motivated to study other's questions and try to find an answer so I will know the answer. I don't want to waste my time with others who aren't as motivated.

-- 
Galen deForest Boyer
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.