Why is it that when people come to simply and politely seek some help in these forums that they are quite commonly belittled by sarcastic responses or intolerant dismissiveness? Awfki's post #3 sets out exactly how help could have been first given (and I would add that if there was an answer in a manual, another thread or document then a link to that be given without innuendo), but the response they got was just another churlish dismissal.
I take part in a couple of forums whose crews can be far, far more outspoken, rude and plain four letter word abusive (often befuddled by rum
) in general forum discussion than any posters in these ones, but if someone comes seeking help it is generously and politely given without allusive remarks concerning assumptions made about the person's own attempts to find the answer (In fact the OP made it clear that they had actually made some attempt) or any other thing.
Why have I decided to scratch this sore just now? First the subject change was a loaded gun, it was going to catch some out. Second, I saw the change in the release notes and I thought to myself "If I had not been involved in the thread discussing the change I would not twig to what this is about and would ignore it" - I would have read it as controlling existing behavior not an alert to changing the behavior and so glossed over it. So someone asking for help about it was quite understandable to me.
Furthermore, despite my having been close to technologies all my life I often find it difficult to locate things in the manual and if found are frequently not clear to me either. That is in no way a criticism because I realize the resource constraints that exist and have only admiration for the extent to which the application has been developed and is supported within those constraints. Of course, my difficulties may be just because I am thick, but that is an argument I am not going to pursue or place any merit on
. Also, in my opinion, the search function in these forums leaves quite a lot to be desired compared to many others in terms of competence.
I try to assume that those seeking help have done their own homework to the extent that their experience and knowledge allows, but may have found the same difficulties I sometimes do but not said so. Really, whether they have or not does not matter, unless they make it clear in subsequent posts that they really are just downright lazy (and the OP was not of that type).
Now I am no saint, I am happy to throw darts in general discussion but I do try when offering help to just, in the first instance, provide the help and not superimpose within that allusions of incompetence, sarcasm, etc; but of course we can all sometimes come across in a manner we did not intend. In fact I rarely offer help regarding Calibre in these forums anymore (which may or may not be a loss to anyone
) and I think in writing this post I have clarified to myself why.
So maybe this piece has just been self serving to myself, it is a quiet Sunday here
(Gee, I feel better now
); maybe I am wrong in what I perceive, but I would be interested in the views of others.