Posting answers vs mailing them (Was: SQLPLUS question)

sylim_at_netcom.com (Sai Lim) writes:

:If you have been following this thread, I have suggested that Saad Ahmad's
:sqlplus stmt will work fine instead of "C" program or PL/SQL that Tom
:has suggested. Tom e*mail me the following message. I thought I
:share this with everybody. And I sincerely hope that the EXPERTS
:like Tom would kindly educate us next time by posting their thoughts
:instead of sending me a message directing at me as if my thought or
:suggestion is worthless. This is THE BIG REASON a lot of people are reluctant
:to post their thoughts publicly in fear of being criticized. We are here
:to learn from each others.

I'm reluctant to proclaim myself one of the 'experts', but have posted my share of answers, and e-mailed quite a few, too. (And sometimes have posted incorrect or incomplete answers.)

I guess I base my 'post vs e-mail' decision on whether I think the question has 'global relevance' or is a FAQ. I'm also probably more likely to mail a 'guess' than something I've actually tried. I don't think I've ever hesitated posting because I'm worried about someone flamimg me.

These days you have to have a pretty thick skin to even _use_ usenet. Even the so-called 'professional' newsgroups tend to get a lot of petty bickering. This newsgroup has been pretty calm, IMO, at least as long as what is being discussed is facts as opposed to 'preferred tools and techniques'. (Face it, whatever your tool is, you've made your choice and feel honor bound to defend it in the face of any competing tool.)

Actually, I sometimes get a bit annoyed at posters who request e-mail answers only because "I don't follow this group much." I've learned a whole lot more by reading this group than I've contributed to it, though, and I suspect most everybody else is in the same boat.

The current guidelines for this group stick to the usenet tradition of mailing replies to the original poster, who is expected to post a followup report. This seems to be something of a dying tradition, though. When the proposed split and revised guidelines get posted (next week, I hope, the drafting is a task that always seems to be #2 on my list) we can all talk further about whether posting or mailing is the 'preferred' method.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth of soapbox time for tonight.

---
Michael Nolan, Sysop for the DBMS RoundTable on GEnie
nolan_at_notes.tssi.com, dbms_at_genie.geis.com
(posted from nolan_at_helios.unl.edu)