MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

chaley · 09-27-2011, 02:32 AM

@DavidTC: this is piling on, but so be it.

Often people come to this forum asking us to do things for them. That something takes our skill, knowledge, and time; all commodities with value and things that the requester does not have or chooses not to use. Nothing tangible is offered in return. Most offer a thank you. Some seem to feel that they are entitled to my time for who-knows-what reason, and can't even say "thanks". A few offer insults. I have been called moron, wanker, pinched face, and worse.

This leaves the question: why should I do anything here? For me, there are three reasons:
- The problem is interesting in some way, usually intellectual or technical
- The request is for something that I will personally use
- I feel like it because the person seems to be nice.
All three are entirely subjective, and absolutely at my discretion.

Lets put this another way. Assume that I have been known to give $100 bills away from time to time. Someone appears at my door and requests one. I ask the person "for what", and the person answers "to satisfy my wants, and your cat is ugly." I try to rise above it and I give the the person a $100 bill. The person then says "this bill isn't good enough -- it is folded and has your stinky finger juice on it". At that point I close and lock my door.

The source for the plugin is available. Change it however you wish.

09-27-2011, 02:32 AM	#221
chaley Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,509 Karma: 8065348 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Notts, England Device: Kobo Libra 2	@DavidTC: this is piling on, but so be it. Often people come to this forum asking us to do things for them. That something takes our skill, knowledge, and time; all commodities with value and things that the requester does not have or chooses not to use. Nothing tangible is offered in return. Most offer a thank you. Some seem to feel that they are entitled to my time for who-knows-what reason, and can't even say "thanks". A few offer insults. I have been called moron, wanker, pinched face, and worse. This leaves the question: why should I do anything here? For me, there are three reasons: - The problem is interesting in some way, usually intellectual or technical - The request is for something that I will personally use - I feel like it because the person seems to be nice. All three are entirely subjective, and absolutely at my discretion. Lets put this another way. Assume that I have been known to give $100 bills away from time to time. Someone appears at my door and requests one. I ask the person "for what", and the person answers "to satisfy my wants, and your cat is ugly." I try to rise above it and I give the the person a $100 bill. The person then says "this bill isn't good enough -- it is folded and has your stinky finger juice on it". At that point I close and lock my door. The source for the plugin is available. Change it however you wish. Last edited by chaley; 09-27-2011 at 05:07 AM.