[X-Newbies] Newbie Lessons

[Steven Rogers]

On May 23, 2005, at 3:45 AM, Brian Durant wrote:

> On the other hand, the long time list user, having seen everything
> before, can be impatient and overly sensitive to newbie views and
> opinions that are patently incorrect, seen from the long time user's
> point of view.

There are some things that merit impatience. Its great to have  
unlimited patience about the list's subject material, but its not  
really helpful to be patient when it comes to the mechanics or  
moderation of the list.

> Flaming or threats of not helping newbies (and others)
> that do not follow the etiquette of some users are no more conducive
> to the purpose of the list than people that think bailing from the
> list is conducive to "straightening out" or "punishing" the list.

On the contrary, it is *very* conducive to the purpose of the list  
for newbies to realize that they are asking help from another  
*person*, and the kind of response depends on how they ask. Its  
matters whether you're reasonably polite, can put together a coherent  
sentence, and can format your question in a legible way. The idea  
that you're less likely to get help if you top-post is not a threat,  
its simply a fact of life. It doesn't help newbies to leave them with  
the impression that civility is irrelevant, or that they can learn  
manners in a public place.

At this point, the newbie usually says something like "but I didn't  
*know* that top-posting vs. bottom-posting was even an issue" (at  
least, the ones that haven't left). And this is exactly the point -  
its just basic politeness to assume some responsibility for getting  
basic info about how things work before you ask other people for  
their time. Impatience with things like posting HTML mail is exactly  
the kind of feedback the newbie needs. Its just like we would be  
impatient with someone who ate like an animal in a restaurant. You're  
supposed to learn some manners *before* you show up. It doesn't have  
to be perfect, but you ought to know things like not to be licking  
ketchup off the table, and you ought to know enough not to shout  
indignantly "well, that's the way we do it at home!" when other  
people stare.

SR