[thelist] Image rotator for ASP server

Ken Schaefer Ken at adOpenStatic.com
Mon Apr 3 19:23:41 CDT 2006


Joseph,

Before you start asking other people to help you solve *your* problem (for
which you are being paid) for free (as in, we are working for you for free),
I think you should learn some etiquette. If you are going to persist with
this attitude, it just indicates that you think your time is more valuable
than mine. Is that really the way you want to come across? Do you really
think you'll get your problems solved this way?

a) As mentioned by Mark, it is extremely bad form to repost a private,
offlist, response back to the public list. If you have something to say to
Mark, please respond to him privately. If you wish to repost his private,
offlist, response back to the list, you should consult with him first.

b) 
> If I wanted to waste my time searching through dozens (or even hundreds) of
>  products that may or may not work or be what I am looking for, I would
> do a search. Not all of us have time to sit and wade through the many
> results of a search.

Not all of us have "time to waste" (in your words) helping you solve your
work problems for free either.

c) 
> 1. I did in fact do a search before posting to the list. Several of the
> "solutions" did not work

And where is your evidence of said searching? And why don't you help out by
mentioning the products that didn't work, so we don't waste everyone's time
re-recommending them?

d) 
> 2. So we should all spend our time reinventing the wheel rather than
> making use of the list? Why bother having the list then?

I believe you are mistaken about the purpose of this list. The list is here
so we can share knowledge, see topical issues, and gain help with complex
problems in a collaborative manner. It is not here as a substitute for doing
your own due diligence. It is not a substitute for Google. It is not free,
personal, support forum.

If you post a decent question, that explains what you want and shows that you
have put effort into solving your own problem, you will probably get more
detailed help from list members. We have better things to do than rekey
answers that have been provided before, or are available via Google. You
don't like that - tough. Hire someone, and they'll provide detailed answers
in a cheerful and comprehensive manner. If you want that some type of
information for free, you need to ask questions the smart way, and lose the
attitude.

You really need to read this:
http://www.adopenstatic.com/personal/help.asp
and
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
(but somehow I suspect you wont)


e) In answer to your question:
There are a large number of ways to do this. For example, if you have the
file details stored in a database, you can use a simple code snippet
(www.adOpenStatic.com/faq/randomrecord.asp) to select a random record from
your DB table. Or, you could do this client-side (by having a bit of
javascript that chooses a random record from an array). You could even have
your ASP write out the javascript arry dynamically. There are lots of
options, and since you haven't given us any details about how you want to
approach this, or what your existing setup is, there isn't a lot we can do. 

Cheers
Ken

: -----Original Message-----
: From: thelist-bounces at lists.evolt.org [mailto:thelist-
: bounces at lists.evolt.org] On Behalf Of Anonymous
: Sent: Tuesday, 4 April 2006 9:41 AM
: To: thelist at lists.evolt.org
: Subject: Re: [thelist] Image rotator for ASP server
: 
: 1. I did in fact do a search before posting to the list. Several of the
: "solutions" did not work. Thus, I asked on the list to see if anyone could
: recommend a particular solution that worked well for them. Product,
: snippet
: of code, solution, service, whatever. It was just a general term.
: 
: 2. So we should all spend our time reinventing the wheel rather than
: making
: use of the list? Why bother having the list then?
: 
: 3. I posted to the list, I replied to the list. If there was actually
: something in the response that was incriminating or proprietary, it would
: have been removed. There wasn't, so I didn't.
: 
: 4. I didn't need a tutorial. I was simply looking for recommendations.
: 
: -----Original Message-----
: From: Chris Marsh [mailto:thelist at cjmarsh.com]
: Sent: Monday, 03 April, 2006 18:53
: To: junkmail at lostcreektech.com
: Cc: thelist at lists.evolt.org
: Subject: RE: [thelist] Image rotator for ASP server
: 
: Joseph
: 
: > Am well aware of using search engines to find things on the net. If I
: > wanted to waste my time searching through dozens (or even hundreds) of
: > products that may or may not work or be what I am looking for, I would
: > do a search. Not all of us have time to sit and wade through the many
: > results of a search. However, it is usually much quicker and the
: > results are better when the search is narrowed down by recommendations
: > of others familiar with the desired product/services/etc.
: 
: Some points for your consideration:
: 
: 1. You have clearly done no research yourself, nor followed the link that
: I
: helpfully provided. If you had, you would realised that you do not require
: a
: "product", so much as a few lines of code. Had you followed my link, you
: would have realised that it would not have taken you much longer than the
: time it took you to type your response to my email to actually solve your
: problem.
: 
: 2. If you think it's a waste of your time for you to do the job that
: you're
: paid for, then I don't quite understand why you would think that it's not
: a
: waste of other people's time to help you for free.
: 
: 3. I replied to you privately. I did this because nothing in the email I
: sent would have benefited the list. It was a friendly nudge in the right
: direction for someone that exhibited all the signs of a person in need of
: a
: spanking with a clue stick. Do not post private correspondance to public
: lists without the express permission of the author. It exhibits disregard
: for the author, and disrespect for the list.
: 
: 4. If you had responded with something along the lines of "thanks for the
: resource, unfortunately I'm not well versed in ASP - could you suggest any
: tutorials for beginners?" I would most probably have supplied you with
: links
: to tutorials and written you a script that did exactly what you wanted to
: boot. The moral of the story? If you put in at least some effort, then
: others are more likely to match it for you. Put in no effort at all, and
: no
: one's going to be very interested in your problems.
: 
: Of course, all of the above are my own opinions; I wouldn't presume to
: speak
: on behalf of others.
: 
: Regards
: 
: Chris Marsh




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