From: John P. Looney (jplooney-ilug at domain online.ie)
Date: Tue 16 May 2000 - 18:07:07 IST
On Tue, May 16, 2000 at 05:47:23PM +0100, Noel Carroll mentioned:
> to modify their behaviour and won't do it again. Simply replying to the
> user in a derogatory fashion is only going to perpetuate the view most
> non-techies have of us as being unapproachable and generally unwilling to
> give out information. My personal view is that if you can't explain a
> mistake to somebody in an open and personable manner then don't post.
I could have explained it in a personable manner. I chose to be helpful
and brutally honest. I pointed him to a FTP help page, and suggested that
how to find such a page in future. Also that his posting to the list was
misdirected.
I can be a hell of a lot less helpful than that.
> In conclusion, the entire point of this is that, to quote the old adage
> in a warped fashion, you'll catch more bees with honey than with
> vinegar.
That's assuming you want bees. A dangerous assumption. We want to attract
linux users. Teach a man to fish - even in a sharp tone - is better than
handing him a fish, and fecking off to the pub. And speaking of, that's
where I'm off to now.
Kate
-- "The fool must be beaten with a stick, for an intelligent person the merest hint is sufficient" -- Zen Master Greg
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