MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

geekmaster · 01-03-2012, 12:48 AM

EDIT: I will sleep on this and decide what to do later. I may come back and edit my posts to tone them down if I decide that I was in error after I get some much needed rest. This is just one of many interactions (many of them PMs) that have been wearing me down. The PMs especially. I see now why other helpful members get grumpy at times when a help session is not going well (as can be seen in IRC archives). I *am* a grumpy old man right now. Sorry to take it out on you sjheiss. I know that you did nothing wrong other than to accidentally irritate me. Good night, and sorry.

Sorry. I am very tired. I need a vacation. I need sleep. I need to get back to work.

The "help me" PMs are wearing me out, especially when I give detailed advice and get a reply like "I tried random stuff right after I asked for help and now that menu does not show anymore -- my screen is just blank and it will not reboot." REALLY? After I invested my valuable time putting my kindle in diagnostics mode to duplicate the photos of their kindle and computer screen that they sent me, and I tested every recovery step to exactly solve the problem shown in their photos, while I typed my reply, the person who asked me to help could not have even a little patience to wait for a reply (which was answered quickly by the way) and just wasted my time. That and the "vague" comment after I put a lot of effort into finding URLs and such... I have been feeling increasingly often that I have put too much effort into trying to help everybody that I can, and now I need a break...

Why would somebody press random keys in a service menu that can damage their device anyway? Why would somebody ask questions about making changes to their kindle that could brick it if done improperly, when they do not understand basic linux stuff? Why did I provide the URLs?

After all the embarassingly lengthy information loaded posts I have made, I felt that in this thread I should make my posts more concise while still containing the important points and details on where to find more information, as can be seen by comparing my series of posts in this thread to those in previous threads. This is one of my typical *short* replies:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho....php?p=1885630

Most of my replies are much longer with much more detail, taking me much more time to do the research and compose a reply that contains enough information to guide someone in what direction to do their own research, while not making it so long that it will not be read and followed, which would just be a waste of my time. I tried to do some sort of compromise in length are research effort in this thread. Perhaps I was too aggravated to the "vague" comment I received after my effort. Apparently I have failed.

Again, I am very sorry. RTFM is a very common STANDARD reply in the linux community for questions that seem to them (based on their own knowledge and experience) could have been answered easily with a little effort by the person who asked. It was not meant to offend. I actually thought (wrongly) that they injected a little (inside) humor while also being somewhat appropriate. Read more information here (seriously, please read it):
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho....php?p=1879352

EDIT: I thought about it a little. I think I will refrain from RTFM comments in the future. The problem is that we are INUNDATED by a DELUGE of information. Who knows WHICH manual to read anyway? A typical single application may come with a directory FULL of manuals. And lately, Google has lost most of its value as a research tool due to the "filter bubble" effect. The current trend to individually customize search results causes harmful positive feedback loops that isolate us into information "ghettos". Now that Google and other search engines really ARE "The Manual" in most cases, those of us with some knowledge in some area cannot assume that others even have access to "that information". There is no "standard google" anymore, so in many cases there is no "standard manual" anymore.

I believe that this is what contributed to my recent belief that multiple beginners did not even TRY to read "the manual" when for me, when I ask Google, it gives me multiple pages of useful results. For a beginner, Google does not know they are interested in something new, so it gives them NO useful search results, using the SAME keywords that I just tried while composing my reply. It is not the linux noob's fault. It is not my fault. It is GOOGLE's fault!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE watch this IMPORTANT short video about online filter bubbles:
http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser...r_bubbles.html

P.S. Perhaps after I get some rest and get caught up on my work I will try to make some kind of newbies guide to underground kindle development. I doubled as a professional technical writer early in my career, and I taught computer programming at a junior college for a year, so it would not be that difficult. I just need to get my time management under control before I add yet another thing to my "To Do" list...

01-03-2012, 12:48 AM	#33
geekmaster Carpe diem, c'est la vie. Posts: 6,433 Karma: 10773668 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Multiverse 6627A Device: K1 to PW3	EDIT: I will sleep on this and decide what to do later. I may come back and edit my posts to tone them down if I decide that I was in error after I get some much needed rest. This is just one of many interactions (many of them PMs) that have been wearing me down. The PMs especially. I see now why other helpful members get grumpy at times when a help session is not going well (as can be seen in IRC archives). I am a grumpy old man right now. Sorry to take it out on you sjheiss. I know that you did nothing wrong other than to accidentally irritate me. Good night, and sorry. Sorry. I am very tired. I need a vacation. I need sleep. I need to get back to work. The "help me" PMs are wearing me out, especially when I give detailed advice and get a reply like "I tried random stuff right after I asked for help and now that menu does not show anymore -- my screen is just blank and it will not reboot." REALLY? After I invested my valuable time putting my kindle in diagnostics mode to duplicate the photos of their kindle and computer screen that they sent me, and I tested every recovery step to exactly solve the problem shown in their photos, while I typed my reply, the person who asked me to help could not have even a little patience to wait for a reply (which was answered quickly by the way) and just wasted my time. That and the "vague" comment after I put a lot of effort into finding URLs and such... I have been feeling increasingly often that I have put too much effort into trying to help everybody that I can, and now I need a break... Why would somebody press random keys in a service menu that can damage their device anyway? Why would somebody ask questions about making changes to their kindle that could brick it if done improperly, when they do not understand basic linux stuff? Why did I provide the URLs? After all the embarassingly lengthy information loaded posts I have made, I felt that in this thread I should make my posts more concise while still containing the important points and details on where to find more information, as can be seen by comparing my series of posts in this thread to those in previous threads. This is one of my typical short replies: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho....php?p=1885630 Most of my replies are much longer with much more detail, taking me much more time to do the research and compose a reply that contains enough information to guide someone in what direction to do their own research, while not making it so long that it will not be read and followed, which would just be a waste of my time. I tried to do some sort of compromise in length are research effort in this thread. Perhaps I was too aggravated to the "vague" comment I received after my effort. Apparently I have failed. Again, I am very sorry. RTFM is a very common STANDARD reply in the linux community for questions that seem to them (based on their own knowledge and experience) could have been answered easily with a little effort by the person who asked. It was not meant to offend. I actually thought (wrongly) that they injected a little (inside) humor while also being somewhat appropriate. Read more information here (seriously, please read it): https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho....php?p=1879352 EDIT: I thought about it a little. I think I will refrain from RTFM comments in the future. The problem is that we are INUNDATED by a DELUGE of information. Who knows WHICH manual to read anyway? A typical single application may come with a directory FULL of manuals. And lately, Google has lost most of its value as a research tool due to the "filter bubble" effect. The current trend to individually customize search results causes harmful positive feedback loops that isolate us into information "ghettos". Now that Google and other search engines really ARE "The Manual" in most cases, those of us with some knowledge in some area cannot assume that others even have access to "that information". There is no "standard google" anymore, so in many cases there is no "standard manual" anymore. I believe that this is what contributed to my recent belief that multiple beginners did not even TRY to read "the manual" when for me, when I ask Google, it gives me multiple pages of useful results. For a beginner, Google does not know they are interested in something new, so it gives them NO useful search results, using the SAME keywords that I just tried while composing my reply. It is not the linux noob's fault. It is not my fault. It is GOOGLE's fault! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE watch this IMPORTANT short video about online filter bubbles: http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser...r_bubbles.html P.S. Perhaps after I get some rest and get caught up on my work I will try to make some kind of newbies guide to underground kindle development. I doubled as a professional technical writer early in my career, and I taught computer programming at a junior college for a year, so it would not be that difficult. I just need to get my time management under control before I add yet another thing to my "To Do" list... Last edited by geekmaster; 01-03-2012 at 02:44 AM.