[thelist] helpful responses (was RE: asp.net: A better way to post back from text)

[Canfield, Joel]

> instead of being sarcastic, why can't you just A) Do
> nothing, or B) try and help.
> 
> If I have misunderstood the spirit of this list, and it's 
> actually NOT about
> helping people, then please do let me know.

thelist has mood swings, but hopefully the overall spirit is
helpfulness.

I'm not an admin anymore, so this is just a suggestion from a user who
was initially (many long years ago) put off by exactly this kind of
thing - why not assume the best about other posters, and even if we
assume the worst, how about increasing the signal-to-noise ratio with a
helpful response instead of degrading it with less-than-helpful
responses. (This is absolutely not directed at Jay; I've read his posts
with interest for lo these many years, so I think his post may have been
a case of print not carrying the right tone of voice. But I've noted a
definite degradation of SNR lately.)

I've had the experience myself of looking for an answer, and really not
knowing what question to frame. Once someone tipped me off to the right
thing to search for my googling was simple.

It's pretty easy to google up an answer and forward the link. Shows the
poster where to find an answer (and reinforces the suggestion to search
for answers before firing off a message to thelist), with a decreased
risk of sounding unpleasant.

back to my nap now

joel