I'd just like suggest that if you see a topic that is redundant or not of interest don't read it. To leave a rude or snippy response doesn't accomplish anything! If you feel the need to correct the error post a link to the associated topic. The idea here is to encourage all levels of users to post, not bite their head off.
I didn't have time to search for the topic I posted and got a rude response which was un-called for. some people...

Just like in the real world, my friend, this forum is full of all kinds of people... tall, short, fat, skinny, friendly, and RUDE. It happens. Don't take it personally. Link me to your original question and I'll see if I can help you.

EDIT: Ah! I found it. I don't think Rich meant anything personal by his comment.

I had actually closed the thread in question - if you see the pretty long thread in Linux-News, you will see why you received the response you received. Basically, we had a large number of those threads opened in around 48 hours - every one of them had been opened without searching for similar threads. I merged them as quickly as I could find them and that poster was also keeping track of them. And then they died down and then your thread was opened.

I have moved this to LQ Suggestions and Feedback as this is about your personal LQ experience. As vtel57 says, you get all sorts on the internet. People who have been around a while will usually say that threads which have been opened without searching first is a real bugbear for them/us.

Thanks for the responses...

I was going to contact Rickh directly, but he ironically has his messaging turned off, [too many negative replies perhaps?].

I suppose since this forum has so much traffic, even fairly new topics should be searched.

I completely agree with you! I post to widen my knowledge, and sometimes I do have noobish questions (no one can know EVERYTHING).

My feeling is that: If you don't like my questions, or don't have anything constructive to post then (here's an innovative thought...hold on to your hats....) Don't Post An Answer! Simple....why waste my time and yours...


Sorry had to vent.....but I agree. Rude posts don't accomplish anything...

-custangro

(in built private) messaging is only for contributing members...

of course supplying an email address is optional.

I suggest that, while you don't know everything, a useful skill to have is google skills. That way, you can say: "I searched, but not really sure what keywords to use..." and you might get less rude responses.

titanium_geek

For those who wish to form their own opinion, the thread in Q is here:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=555183

Personally, I think the only remotely rude thing in rickh's response was the use of the word "new" in the phrase "new people".

Given that you violated protocol by posting an essentially duplicate thread, the response was mild. In other fora, you might have been severely flamed.

Have you read Raymond & Moen recently, or XavierP's "How to Ask a Question" (the link is in his sig)? Especially:

Dealing with rudeness and:
On Not Reacting Like A Loser

(From:
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way by Eric S Raymond and Rick Moen)

On a personal level and opinion, I don't buy the response that no one has time to search for a question, answer, thread, whatever... If you can take the few minutes to create a new thread that involves typing a question, etc.. then you should have the time to do a quick search first before such things.

Example, I can type in a few key terms in a search engine and get responses within seconds. I'm sure most could do this within a minute if they know what terms to use in their search, which is usually a given.

Now take the other approach, take a few minutes to come to LQ, browse to correct forum, click new thread, type subject, type your question, click submit and wait for a response or answer that could be anywhere from another few minutes to hours, days, weeks, months or never, all when you could have possibly saved yourself some time by searching for it to begin with.

Not all questions have the perfect answer and that's why there's online communities like this available, but do the people and members here a favor and take the few minutes to search, you'd be surprised in what type of information is most likely readily available.

Agreed...I've saved myself from posting questions just by doing a google search. No one is arguing that fact. Should someone do a google search before they post? Of Course! I don't think anyone thinks that doing a search is a bad idea.

But that's not the point. The point is rudeness...does a post merit a rude comment? I understand that people post questions like "How do you add users in linux?" But why waste your time making rude comments? How about NOT responding?

Constructive criticism is always good...a good response to the question would be: "The command to add users is useradd. In the terminal type man useradd for more information. Also there is a lot of information on the web. In fact google has a section just for linux! www.google.com/linux You can type what you are looking for and you'll get a LOT of information."

Notice how that informs them without insulting them? I know there is "How to Ask Questions the Smart Way"....there should also be "How to Answer Questions the Smart Way"

Just my thoughts...

-custangro

custangro, there possibly is some sort of "how to answer the questions the smart way" ... um.

http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/...uestions_Guide from
http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/wiki/...LinuxQuestions

that's from a while ago. as it's in the wiki, feel free to contribute/add/change/edit/etc to it!

titanium_geek

I respect everyone's stance on this, however as mentioned before, it's just as easy for readers to by-pass a duplicate post rather than leaving a snippy response. This site has been around for a long time and on any given topic a search may result in 100+ threads.
This was one of the few times I didn't use the search. And, if it's the norm to flame posters for minor sh*t, I'm beginning to wonder what the the average age is here[?]. I was merely posting a news story, it wasn't a plea for help. I won't bother next time...

Old Business
You know that I read the thread in Q, & don't think you were flamed or anyone was rude to you. -- What was it about the reply that offended you?

Sorry I don't have links into LQ policy to back this up, but why do you think that starting a duplicate thread is "minor sh*t"? Perhaps a mod. can step in & explain it (politely, of course ), w/ links.


New Business
I think the problem is that many of us do not share your view "it's just as easy for readers to by-pass a duplicate post".

To alleviate this problem, I propose that LQ add an "Ignore This Post" button/link to the thread display; that way if something long, rude, off-topic, etc. is interfering w/ anyone's use of a thread, they can suppress the problem post(s). This would be an extension of the personal "Ignore List" already provided.

If this idea flies, next on my list of improvements are "Collapse This Quote" & "Collapse This Code Block" features. Same reasoning -- allow readers to suppress material they find extraneous to understanding & using a thread.

My personal reasons for wanting this are:

In the case of Quote Blocks, there is no rule or custom against (redundantly) quoting entire previous posts, especially the one immediately before. Obviously not everyone agrees w/ me on this, or there would be a rule against it. Just in case not everyone disagrees w/ me on this, it would be nice to provide this feature.

In the case of Code Blocks, there is an on-going problem w/ the interaction between the LQ site & the Konqueror browser. Unlike Opera, Konqueror lets "wide" Code Blocks cause horizontal scrolling of the whole browser window. In the extreme, this makes the entire thread unreadable. My choices are then to use Opera or ignore the thread. The ability to collapse a Code Block whether it's too wide or too long or whatever would be a boon.

Those are my reasons, others may agree for other reasons.

Finally, having mentioned the "Ignore List", I would like to suggest an improvement to that too: tagging. When I add someone to my "Ignore List", I would like the option of adding a short reminder of why I put him/her on the list. This would help in deciding whether to read a post from this individual, as well as prepare me for what type of annoyance I might expect if I do.

Sorry this is so long, I got on a roll ; & I apologize if this seems like thread hijacking.

There's no need to point out the rules, I've already admitted to my faux pax.

re: new biz; interesting idea - I'm guessing that's for personal use and wouldn't affect everyone's view[?]. If members are publicly rated that can cause some issues.