Boltar said:
Says common sense. More about that in a second, though. Let's first deal
with the anti-authority thing. In a sense, you're right - very few[1]
people can *stop* anyone from posting anything they like here, and in a
way that's a good thing, because nobody likes censorship.
So if it's a question of "I'll post what I like and nobody's gonna stop me,
so there", well, so be it. But those who seek help need to remember that
nobody here is required to help them, and nobody here gets paid for
helping them. So, if they want to attract help, the best way to do it is
to ask for help in a way that attracts that help, rather than repelling
it.
Let me give you a concrete example of that. A few moments ago, I read a
request for C help from someone who has, in the past, habitually acted in
a very offensive way towards those who freely provide expert assistance in
this newsgroup. It is very likely that I could have helped him to get over
his problem quickly and efficiently (although it would have required his
offering more information), but I chose not to bother, because of his
previous posting behaviour, which I don't wish to encourage.
So... why is it a good idea to look for an answer on the Web or in
textbooks rather than in newsgroups? Why is that considered a sensible
first step in one's quest for knowledge? And the answer is very simple:
people's time is limited. Web servers will happily send out pages of
information all day long, but people have other stuff to do. So it makes
sense to seek your answer from time-inexpensive sources such as Web sites
or books *first*. The chances are good that you'll get your answer this
way.
None of the regular contributors to this newsgroup has universal knowledge
of all things; we all come across problems of our own. But in general we
don't bother asking for help here (or indeed in other groups) because,
99.9% of the time, the answer is there for the finding, on a Web site or
in a book. On the very few occasions that one of comp.lang.c's regular
contributors asks for help, it is because he or she has already checked
what he or she considers to be the usual sources of information, and has
drawn a blank there. At *that* point, it is not unreasonable to ask
someone else to spend their time helping the questioner. (Equally, it is
not unreasonable of them to decide not to do that. Their time is their
own.)
So, as a matter of courtesy, it makes sense to seek your answer from other
sources first, and to use this newsgroup as a backstop. (Indeed, that's
why we have an FAQ list - to move some of the common questions offline, so
to speak.)
Can you ignore the courtesies and just plough straight in with your
question, not bothering to do any research yourself? Of course you can -
but equally, the regular contributors to the group can ignore *you* if
they choose. It's up to each of us to use other people's time, and our
own, responsibly.
[1] I say "very few" because there are bound to be exceptions - e.g. maybe
there's an authoritarian regime/company/dad that censors Usenet articles
on servers (or indeed clients) over which it/he has legal jurisdiction. Or
think up your own example.
