Evolution

[Michael T. Richter]

On Sat, 2006-27-05 at 16:27 -0400, Carroll Grigsby wrote:

> Here's the flaw in your strategy: I've noticed that the people who are 
> fussiest about bottom posting are more apt to be old time *nix types whereas 
> top posters are more apt to be recent windows migrants. Guess who is more apt 
> to give you a useful answer.


The latter.  The former usually respond with one of:

     1. "If you don't like it go back to Windows."
     2. <insert a whole bunch of unexplained (or at least poorly
        explained) technical gobbledigook>
     3. "Hmm....  It works here."  <insert obvious signs of lack of
        interest>
     4. "What?  Are you stupid or something?  It's OBVIOUS that you just
        have to type <insert executable line noise> into your <insert
        executable line noise> file!  They should have a Linux users
        license or something!"
     5. Silence.


The latter tend to respond with "I had that same problem and here's what
I finally did to get it to work".


> The same can be said for posting in HTML; some of the same folks who don't 
> like top posting are also those who just dump HTML crap straight to the bit 
> bucket. Unread. If I'm having some kind of problem with my system, it seems 
> to me that I'm ahead of the game if my plaintive plea is read by the guys who 
> know what they're doing rather than ones who have so recently worshiped 
> before the altar at the Church of Reformat and Reinstall.


The ones who know what they're doing tend not to be exactly the most
forthcoming with that knowledge.  (Evidence: ALSA documentation.)
Personally I suspect this is because they hoard the knowledge so they
can keep their reps as gurus, but that's just my cynicism (fuelled by
twelve years of up-close observation, mind) speaking.  They'll often
sneeringly help with the most trivial of problems ("how can I SSH
somewhere without having to give a password each time") but they won't
actually share the Deep Magic with mere peons.

--
Michael T. Richter
Email: ttmrichter at gmail.com, mtr1966 at hotpop.com
MSN: ttmrichter at hotmail.com, mtr1966 at hotmail.com; YIM:
michael_richter_1966; AIM: YanJiahua1966; ICQ: 241960658; Jabber:
mtr1966 at jabber.cn

"I find many of the machines of violence very attractive. Tanks,
airplanes, warships, especially aircraft carriers. And the German
U-boats, submarines." --The Dalai Lama
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