The author is not analysing the problem, identifying its root cause, or proposing solutions. Instead he’s assuming shit about the others’ emotions (sadism, rage etc.).
In my view, someone who is hanging around in #perl should expect newbie questions, and if they don’t want to answer newbie questions they simply shouldn’t do it, they should ignore them.
In that situation plenty newbies get louder and whinier. “Wow, this community is so toxic! I’m just asking a simple question, why do nobody helping me? I assume that you don’t really like to discuss [topic].” That further aggravates regular users, because it increases the amount of noise that the newbie is generating.
If one really wants people to read the manual, a much better strategy would be to answer the question, and then having established oneself as a helpful person, suggest the manual:
“Here’s the fish. A bamboo pole is great st…” and the newbie already left the premises.
The core of the issue is that people join the same community for different reasons. Your typical regular wants to discuss the subject in depth; while your typical newbie has a small pressing issue that they want to see addressed. For one, what the other wants is noise.
This can be solved by creating separated spaces for each demographic. And preferably, filling the newbie corner with newbie-friendly resources, so they don’t even need to ask the question.
My big beef (and this happens on S.O. all the time) is when I ask a detailed question about how to do some very specific ABC thing, and instead of answering, the responders try to question my requirements, turn the problem into a XY problem[1], or answer something totally different.
“What are you really trying to do?”
“ABC is not how I’d solve the problem I imagine you are working on.”
“I don’t know how to do ABC, but I know how to do DEF…”
“Why do you want to do ABC?”
I mean, thanks for all of your unsolicited design input, I guess, but I’m pretty specifically asking for help with ABC.
Urgh. In topics where I am the newbie, this is perhaps THE big reason I don’t ask help: I’m completely fine to the “I’ll teach you how to fish” people Mark Dominus complains about, but those “y u want to do ABC?” grind my gears.
If I’m asking you how to do ABC, odds are that I already looked for alternatives where I don’t need to do ABC. Stop assuming otherwise dammit.
This text is crap.
The author is not analysing the problem, identifying its root cause, or proposing solutions. Instead he’s assuming shit about the others’ emotions (sadism, rage etc.).
In that situation plenty newbies get louder and whinier. “Wow, this community is so toxic! I’m just asking a simple question, why do nobody helping me? I assume that you don’t really like to discuss [topic].” That further aggravates regular users, because it increases the amount of noise that the newbie is generating.
“Here’s the fish. A bamboo pole is great st…” and the newbie already left the premises.
The core of the issue is that people join the same community for different reasons. Your typical regular wants to discuss the subject in depth; while your typical newbie has a small pressing issue that they want to see addressed. For one, what the other wants is noise.
This can be solved by creating separated spaces for each demographic. And preferably, filling the newbie corner with newbie-friendly resources, so they don’t even need to ask the question.
From HN comments:
Urgh. In topics where I am the newbie, this is perhaps THE big reason I don’t ask help: I’m completely fine to the “I’ll teach you how to fish” people Mark Dominus complains about, but those “y u want to do ABC?” grind my gears.
If I’m asking you how to do ABC, odds are that I already looked for alternatives where I don’t need to do ABC. Stop assuming otherwise dammit.