On 27 Nov 2001, at 10:10, Chuq Von Rospach wrote:
> I am seeing more and more messages of the form "I know this is off-topic,
> but..." -- things where the poster knows and admits upfront it doesn't
> belong on a list, but has decided to send it anyway.
>
> These drive me crazy. Innocent mistakes and naivete are things I can deal
> with and I try to be patient with those people, but here are folks who know
> up-front what they're doing is wrong, because they are apologizing in
> advance.
I'm not sure I've seen much of an increase recently. I can say that there ar
definitely qualitative differences among the mailing lists I'm on --- some just
send OT stuff as if the list is 'anything goes', others are pretty good about
putting 'OT' or some similar flag [but otherwise freely post 'off topic'] and
others are very 'tight'. The differences are there, but I can't say that I've
seen a real shift-in-style among the lists I hang around...
[...]
> ...It seems to me
> there's some aspect of laziness here ("rather than find the right place,
> I'll ask the close place") but combined with the "know these guys are
> clueful" aspect, so there's a mixed message here.
But, not exactly 'lazy' --- I think you're vastly underestimating the hassle
and the entry barrier to dropping into a new, focused forum to ask a one-time
question.
I do try to do that and I can attest that it hurts: finding the right
newsgroup, scan the last few weeks to get the sense of the group, check out the
FAQ, *THEN* ask my question, follow the newsgroup for a few days to see if I
get any replies, then unsubscribe... [I find it easier to browse and play with
newsgroups than to do a similar cycle with mailing lists]. A *real* PITA for a
one-shot question... So I tend to be forgiving [especially if it is flagged
so that the hard-liners can ignore it/filter it if they choose]...
/Bernie\
--
Bernie Cosell Fantasy Farm Fibers
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Pearisburg, VA
--> Too many people, too few sheep <--
