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I don't want it to seem that I'm targeting any one particular individual
with this comment--and I know we've been through this before--but I know I'm
not the lone voice when I say that I wish people would THINK FOR THEMSELVES
before asking this list to solve their problems for them.
About 5 months ago, Andrew Plato wrote an outstanding response to people (in
general) who wanted this list to do their work for them. Most of it was
aimed at students, but it should extend to working professionals as well. I
think that response should be distributed every now and then to remind
people that their mind is a terrible thing to waste...
Yes, I can hit the delete key when such requests come across my email. But
I'm not contributing to the solution of the problem by deleting the request,
<<and in a way>>, people who respond for pages and pages aren't contributing
either. At times, it seems like a co-dependent relationship of people
wanting others to do their work and research for them, and people who are
willing to do it. Like the parents who do little Johnny's homework for him.
I'm not saying such assistance isn't necessary every time, but when you get
questions like "I've searched the archives and I can't find an answer. Can
someone tell me how to design a gigabit ethernet over copper HBA that will
work with a Cisco 5420 switch and fibre channel?"
Have these people never heard of search engines, for crying out loud? I
rarely post a question to this list because I respect the fact that you're
all probably inundated like me, so I opt first for www.google.com or some
other search engine/archive to get the information I need. Fresh-outs and
experienced technical writers know how to conduct research. Asking this list
to do the reseach for them shows a blatant disregard for the generosity and
expertise this list harbors.
To paraphrase a famous saying:
Do someone else's research for them, and you've saved their job for a day;
show them how to do their own research, and they'll have a job for life.
Thanks.
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