Linux experts do not want to be bothered with newbie questions! (was:Re: No noobs?)

[Micha Feigin]

On Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:25:07 +0200
Omer Zak <w1 at zak.co.il> wrote:

> On Tue, 2009-02-17 at 13:42 +0200, Dotan Cohen wrote:
> > 2009/2/17 Omer Zak <w1 at zak.co.il>:

[... snip snip ...]

> 
> (I actually prefer top-posting, as it saves me the need to scroll
> downwards when I do quick reading; but I'll play along in this posting.)
> 

I prefer snipping and in posting personally but yes, sometimes top posting can
be a lot clearer and I've deleted my share of messages that I was just too tired
scrolling to the end to see what they added.

> The kind of newbies' questions which I prefer to avoid is the repeating
> one.  One newbie asks how to mount his USB DiskOnKey.  We answer him.  A
> week later, another newbie comes and (being newbie, he is totally
> unaware of the list archives or of the documentation available from
> Google), asks the same question.  AARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!
> 

And maybe teaching them to look in archives and search on google is a cause by
itself? Although admittedly I can sometimes have a light trigger finger when
really annoyed with something and really tired, but I do try to make up for it
by trying to help other people also.

> I don't see you, Dotan Cohen, asking questions which were already asked
> recently.  I don't think that any of your example questions would
> currently qualify as noob questions.  Long time has passed since anyone
> compiled his own kernel in Linux-IL or discussed writing a driver.
> 

Anyone compiled on the list, asked about it on the list or anyone from the list?
Since my last kernel compilations happened to be February 3,4,10 and 14. I
fiddled with the qc-usb module a couple of weeks back to get it to compile with
kernel 2.6.28, with the compat-wireless driver to get my wireless led working,
a bit with the vmware drivers and I think that there were a couple of others I
broke lately setting up a cluster, so I guess that it's not the last one ...

And I can still remember my days installing debian for the first time I think
it was when hamm was testing or unstable. There was no mailing list, very
little info and if I wasn't so stubborn I would probably would never have
managed (and if I didn't do some embeded development with linux on linux for a
while I'm not sure if it would have been my primary system even now). So why not
make like a little easier for the noobs?

>                                                 --- Omer
> 
>