[mythtv-users] "get the sources and fix it yourself"

[David Brodbeck]

On Sep 28, 2007, at 10:03 AM, Bearcat M. Sandor wrote:

> If someone follow me around and asks me for directions while i am  
> busy or just
> looks at me impatiently and says "I'm lost, help help" and they  
> have the same
> map i do in their hands that's different.  Even then, i might seek  
> to find
> out why they were lost. Perhaps they just had trouble reading it.

I think an analogy to the mailing list situation is more like this:

Let's say you were sitting in a lounge area in a shopping mall  
reading a book.  Let's say there was a massive sign behind you with a  
map of the mall and directions to all the stores.  And let's say  
people kept coming up to you and saying, "I don't have time to read  
the map.  How do I get to Sears?"  Eventually, you'd get cranky, and  
someone would think you were a jerk.

That's what a lot of mailing lists are like.  People ask the same  
questions over and over, questions that are clearly answered in the  
FAQ or the documentation.  After a while, the regulars on the list  
get tired of spoon-feeding answers to people who refuse to look for  
them themselves.  Often those regulars get abused when they try to  
point people to the FAQ instead of repeating the information that's  
in it.  Eventually, they get cranky.  And then people think they're  
jerks.