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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!news.ysu.edu!odin.oar.net!malgudi.oar.net!imci4!newsfeed.internetmci.com!news.ac.net!news.bconnex.net!felix.junction.net!not-for-mail From: michael@memra.com (Michael Dillon) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: Look, this is depressing! I'm outta here, folks! Date: 1 Jul 1996 17:52:26 -0700 Organization: Memra Software Inc. - Internet consulting - http://www.memra.com Lines: 49 Message-ID: <4r9rsa$s9e@sidhe.memra.com> References: <31C6A7A0.7DE14518@FreeBSD.org> <4qan42$g3@anorak.coverform.lan> NNTP-Posting-Host: sidhe.memra.com In article <4qan42$g3@anorak.coverform.lan>, Brian Somers <brian@awfulhak.demon.co.uk> wrote: >The FreeBSD usenet "answerers" are far too generous. I am beginning >to believe that a lot of people should be answered with one-liners >that point to a man page or a bit of the FAQ/Handbook. They should >not be answered when they have obviously gone straight to usenet >without trying to figure it out for themselves. Besides wasting >time - time that could have been spent improving FreeBSD, they >probably won't retain the knowledge. The answer that's remembered >is "ask Jordan/J"org/Terry/etc." - things degrade from here. Hear, hear! That's just what I do with those kinds of questions on various lists and newsgroups. I flame them to a crisp for not doing their research and give them a couple URL's at the end of the message. I have invented a couple new useful acronyms to use. STFW - Search The "Fine" Web ERQ - Easily Researched Question as in "Do not ERQ me with your ERQsome questions". And I talk about the 4 R's: Reading, 'Riting, 'Rithmetic and Research And FreeBSD is one of the easier things to research too because if you can't find the answer on a WWW search engine like AltaVista, a search of the mailing lists at http://www.freebsd.org/search.html will usually find the answer. >"read the philosophy FAQ. You don't get anything for free - the price >is to use your head". TANSTAAFL An acronym invented by the greatest American philosopher of the 20th century who is responsible for far more than most people realize including the Internet itself and all the technology that runs it. It stands for There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. Robert A. Heinlein promoted his philosphical views in a series of science fiction novels that influenced many of the people responsible for the technology underpinnings of todays world. -- Michael Dillon ISP & Internet Consulting Memra Software Inc. Fax: +1-604-546-3049 http://www.memra.com E-mail: michael@memra.com