On Tue, 8 Sep 1998 10:12:21 Niels Hald
> The time I've been on list, it has been a balancing between
> questions/answers ranging from the rather basic, to the rather hairy.
> This balancing has mostly been quite good. When it works best, I see it
> as due to two kinds of behaviour:
>
> 1) the presence and patience of the experienced (and that is especially
> glynn, so stop banging on him) in answering basic questions.
>
> 2) the ability of the unexperienced to follow pointers (e.g. use the net
> and the literature to become experienced), once given.
>
> As for the first point, I can only say that I find the patience (and
> presence) of the experienced highly admirable.
>
> (Nomex III boiler suit on)
> As for the second, the responsability of (not only) the unexperienced to
> preserve bandwidth - both list bandwidth and mental bandwidth at those
> supposed to answer - should also be stressed. With one list and maybe 10
> million linux users, some of them programming, it is necessary for
> everybody first to attempt to use whatever local resources being
> present, people, books, net, experimenting, whatever, to solve their
> problems.
>
> In my opinion, this list is not, could not and should not be a basic
> course in C - it should be for shooting trouble and discussing
> techniques, tools, algorithms, pitfalls, teaching etc (some humor is
> also OK, if it is good :) )
> (Nomex off)
>
> At this point someone typically proposes to split the list in a basic
> and a hairy part. I dont think this is a good idea, it will typically
> lead to the dead of at least one - if not both - of the lists. For a
> list to live, there must be a reason for the inexperienced to become
> experienced (i.e. someone to tell them that there is (some) order behind
> the chaos and some beauty beyond the constant pain), for them to become
> the new experienced, when the older ones leaves for greener pastures.
> But it must also be fun for the experienced to be on the list, this
> probably setting the upper limit of the ratio between basic and hairy
> questions. Otherwise they'd probably disappear (one could at this point
> make the thought experiment that the handful of _highly_ experienced
> people answering most of the questions on this list (you know who you
> are) just left. What then?).
>
> What about a FAQ, which could contain (nomex on) some agreed upon
> philosophical statements about the list (okay, such things _are_
> pluralistic in nature and thus subject to change) a tool overview and a
> number of pointers to resources on the net and in book form. When
> somebody (like me) proposes a FAQ to be written and regularly posted, he
> or she typically ends up with the responsability to actually do it, but
> (sprinkler system on also) for the time being, I dont have the time to
> do it !! sorry !! (all fire equipment off).
>
I agree whole hardedly with ALL of your comments. Especially Glynn's major
contribution.
As an oldie but newbie who has spent most of the past year rummaging around in
the dark corners of web-sites and archives I can say that indexing is the single
most important issue. The forest is so big and growing so quickly that the
half-life of "maps" is shrinking before our keyboards.
David Ross
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Toad Technologies
"I'll be good! I will, I will !"
