Re: FlameFest II: This is is not CS 1 (fwd)

From: Billy H. Chan (bhchan@po.EECS.Berkeley.EDU)
Date: 05/08/96


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Chris Sosbe <csosbe@web.netusa1.net>

 Agreed, this isn't a place for people with more C programming experience to
 babysit me. It is however a place that I can write to in hopes that someone
 out there might have a solution to a problem I'm having.

What's the difference?  You're hoping someone out there might have a 
solution to a problem you're having.  When the problem is not because of 
some inconsistancy in stock or vague documentation on how a macro or 
function is used, but on basic how to write the check to an if statement,
then it becomes lowerdivision CS babysitting.

  question about some simple basic C programming, so be it but please don't
  flame me because I don't know as much about C as you or others do. If I
  don't ask those newbie stupid questions and get answers to them, I'll be
  asking for help for a long time because no one with the knowledge I need

Then you should be glad you don't post to some of the newsgroups out there,
when they'd flame you far worse for far more minor things.  Netiquette 
aside, when you ask a newbie question, you expect to be flamed.  Yes, the 
world would be better if it weren't the case, but, well, that's how it 
is.  (one of the least followed tenents of netiqueete (other than the 4 
line sig which everyone on this list keep, happily enough) is the 
tolerance before flame.  I fall prey to that one where others might have 
held back longer, as is seen by the different responses we've gotten from 
my initial rant against not using your C books (or, the man pages for 
that matter)... if you want to learn the art, do it the right way, learn 
from the masters who printing companies publish.  Blind leading the blind 
isn't necessary good for you, though people will feel insulted more if I 
call them blind (and i'm not, mind you.  Just a turn of phrase))

  C programming expert and I'm almost willing to bet you and everyone 
  else out there that are good at C asked those very same newbie 
  questions some time or another.

Would you really want people to take you up on that bet?  I know a few who
practically new C in the womb (no, I dare not claim to be one of those) :)
(I realize now, too late, I've been forgetting my smileys)

  Please keep this in mind when you see some little technical problem
  someone overlooked and if it bothers you that much, simply delete the
  message. Again, sorry for the venting and inappropriately posted message.

At some point in your online life, you may subscribe to more than a 
handful of mailinglist because of your interest.  Your CS department 
might also frown on your mailspool going above a certain number in k's.
You'd probably choose a few lists that have good signal to noise.  This
list was one of those, but seem to oscillate through time.  I should learn
to time those better so I can unsubscribe and resubscribe accordingly.
Sorry for the bandwidth, bye.
-- Billy  H. Chan     bhchan@po.eecs.berkeley.edu  bhchan@csua.berkeley.edu
   CogSci/CompSci     http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~bhchan     ResumeInside



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