At 01:08 20/08/2010, Spencer Graves wrote:
What do you think about adding a "No RTFM"
policy to the R mailing lists? Per, "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RTFM":
Spencer,
You raise an interesting point but the responses
to your post remind us that people (and indeed
whole cultures) are not all situated at the same
point on the continuum of directness between
"It's a cow, stupid" and "From this side it looks
not unlike a cow". The issue of what is offensive
is even more complex, I remember being taken to
task on another list for referring to a "rule of thumb".
The thing I find most rude on the list is not the
occasional abrupt postings by people who are
obviously having a bad day but the number of
fairly long exchanges which end unresolved as the
OP never bothers to post a conclusion and we
never know whether we solved his/her problem.
I am not asking for thanks but we would all
benefit from knowing how it all turned out.
The Ubuntu Forums and LinuxQuestions.org, for
instance, have instituted "no RTFM" policies to
promote a welcoming atmosphere.[8][9].
RTFM [and] "Go look on google" are two
inappropriate responses to a question. If you
don't know the answer or don't wish to help,
please say nothing instead of brushing off
someone's question. Politely showing someone how
you searched or obtained the answer to a
question is acceptable, even encouraged.
...
If you wish to remind a user to use search tools
or other resources when they have asked a
question you feel is basic or common, please be
very polite. Any replies for help that contain
language disrespectful towards the user asking
the question, i.e. "STFU" or "RTFM" are
unacceptable and will not be tolerated. —Ubuntu Forums
Gavin Simpson and I recently provided examples
answering a question from "r.ookie" that had
previously elicited responses, ""You want us to
read the help page to you?" and "It yet again
appears that you are asking us to read the help pages for you."
I can appreciate the sentiment in
fortunes('rtfm'). In this case, however,
"r.ookie" had RTFM (and said so), but evidently
the manual was not sufficiently clear.
Best Wishes,
Spencer Graves
Michael Dewey
http://www.aghmed.fsnet.co.uk
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