On Wed, 6 Dec 2000, asantos wrote:
> still try and keep a civil demeanour. Please try and do the same. If you
> disagree, just say so, no need to call me a pothead.
>
Ok...I disagree with what you have below.
> What I have found are various offers for paid support... check the archives.
Everyone gets a few questions answered that are FAQs (though I
question the intelligence of doing so). What I have seen (besides
all the ranting by a few about newbie questions) is that far too
often the "newbie" is not only a newbie to qmail, but to their
choice of operating system as well. As much as I would like to
see more folks move away from MS, it is apparent that the price we
pay on technical lists such as this is a dramatic (some may say
exponential) growth in bandwidth spent on newbie issues that come up
because:
1. The user did not read the available docs
2. The user does not understand their OS enough to understand the
answer to their question (let alone ASK a question and provide enough
information for someone to answer it)
3. The user is asking a question that would not need be asked if #2
had not been true.
4. The user is in over their head trying to admin a system in the
first place for ALL of the above reasons.
Once a newbie makes it abundantly clear that they fit the above
categories, I think the best answer for them IS "I will do this
for you for a fee".
> And I have found clear attempts to make as difficult as possible for newbies
> to learn more. If that's not the usual procedure for guilds, what
This is pure bunk! I have seen a few folks get irate with the newbie
questions, but they are tired of the 3 aforementioned groups of users
expecting this list to be the FIRST answer to every question, even if
it has been asked MANY times previously.
Of course, you can disagree, but you would be wrong.
--
Butch Evans
Shelton Internet
Network Admin
