http://www.perlmonks.org?node_id=964603


in reply to Re^2: Better Days?
in thread Better Days?

Very good point. Rookies help total beginners, journeymen help rookies, gurus help journeymen.
I think everybody can find a problem here worth pondering and / or answering. If it's way below your interest level...you click away and let others deal with it.

I'm too lazy to be proud of being impatient.

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re^4: Better Days?
by JavaFan (Canon) on Apr 11, 2012 at 23:54 UTC
    "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

    --  George Santayana

    \begin{old_fart_mode}
     25 years or so ago, regulars from the Usenet group comp.unix were getting fed up from reading the same questions over and over again, from people who could not be bothered to read the FAQ, or any basic form of documentation.

    So they said, let's create comp.unix.wizards, where the wizards can hang out, and we let the rookies and they journeyman answer the questions from the beginners.

    But if you have a question, what would you prefer? A bunch of answers from people who were absolute beginners a fortnight ago themselves, or would you prefer an answer from a guru? The trick of splitting the world into a wizards continent and a non-yet-wizard continent backfired: although they can't read FAQs or any kind of documentation, the novices had no problem locating the wizards, and started asking the basic questions over and over again in comp.unix.wizard. (And, to piss off the wizards even more, many posts were cross-posted to both comp.unix and comp.unix.wizard)
    \end{old_fart_mode}

[reply]
[d/l]
[select]

      Um, he wasn't proposing the creation of a wizards' area. He was proposing that people don't waste their time on questions that they don't actually want to answer. You were supposed to post that anecdote about that BBS in NY (before it became bitnet) where somebody proposed that and it didn't work.

      Oh, even better, tell us the story about the person who complained about all the stupid questions but then decided to quickly ignore requests that aggravated him and how he died in the end anyway.

      - tye        

[reply]

      So, what's the solution?

      Put the whole of PM on a DVD and make the site read-only?

      With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday'
      Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
      "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
      In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.

      The start of some sanity?
[reply]
        I don't think there's anything that needs solving.

        Time passes. Things change. People will just have to accept it. And yes, in earlier times, everything was better. Even Socrates complained about his next (younger) generation.

[reply]

In Section Perl Monks Discussion