A question about Scuba Board posting etiquette

[gcarter]

"Fast, Cheap, or Good. Pick any two."

I always did like your ability to comprehend the immediate environment.

I am not a project manager, I am a Finance guy, but I spend a lot of time dealing with PMs, and with process design / change. I have always found this to be a great way to help people understand the trade offs they need to make. It is amazing how many situations you can apply this to.

Project triangle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

More concise, better graphic:

http://www.sixside.com/fast_good_cheap.asp

(Sorry for the hijack, I'm all better now. Rum helps )

 

[lowviz]

...//...My rationale is that at some point there will be nobody to ask.....//.....

-as soon as you drop below the surface...

...//...IMHO this is the kind of sport where self sufficiency should be a clear goal, regardless of the type of diving you do.

Yep, can blame your misfortune on anybody you choose...

 

[FPDocMatt]

Some people like personalized replies, or to socially participate in the forum by being in a discussion instead of just reading other peoples threads.

Exactly. If all I wanted is information, I'd do a web or forum search. But that's not interactive.

The approach I see helping point people to such good resources & illustrating how to find them, without offending the person, is when members instead post a link to one or two of the better pre-existing threads. Instead of 'go look it up,' they say 'here's a link to a good thread addressing your question.' You can even say 'I did a quick search & found this thread...' without offending people.

Richard.

Yes. The salient point here is that referring someone to a resource is not the problem. The problem is doing so rudely. A recent poster (who is now on my ignore list) thinks that RTFM is an appropriate reply.

 

[FPDocMatt]

... when someone hasn't bothered to even crack the cover on a manual, I am not very inclined to be helpful. I am however quite willing to help anyone who has shown some initiative and effort. If no manual is supplied or it isn't that kind of question, fair game, but I still draw the line at being someone's research librarian. There is a line that makes me stop and say "Really? Are you really too lazy to look that up for yourself?" The internet, libraries, books all exist for a reason, and nobody should expect to be spoon fed without taking some shots for it.

IOW, IMNSHO if you want answers with a smile you need to show that you are trying.

YMMV

When someone asks a question of a person rather than looking it up in a manual, it could be laziness. But it could also be that the person would rather interact with a human being to get the needed information.

 

[SC_Hoaty]

When someone asks a question of a person rather than looking it up in a manual, it could be laziness. But it could also be that the person would rather interact with a human being to get the needed information.

There was a difference in school between the kid who asked "can you help me with my homework?" and the kid who asked "can I copy your homework?"

Both asked a question. The nature of the question, and their willingness to show initiative in solving their problem, made the difference.

 

[HowardE]

Yes. The salient point here is that referring someone to a resource is not the problem. The problem is doing so rudely. A recent poster (who is now on my ignore list) thinks that RTFM is an appropriate reply.

This is not an appropriate reply in our forums which have been dubbed our "green zones." (Basic Scuba and New Divers)

In general though (across the board), I would say that if someone responds this way, the post SHOULD be reported.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Whether at work or IRL, when someone hasn't bothered to even crack the cover on a manual, I am not very inclined to be helpful. I am however quite willing to help anyone who has shown some initiative and effort. If no manual is supplied or it isn't that kind of question, fair game, but I still draw the line at being someone's research librarian. There is a line that makes me stop and say "Really? Are you really too lazy to look that up for yourself?" The internet, libraries, books all exist for a reason, and nobody should expect to be spoon fed without taking some shots for it.

IOW, IMNSHO if you want answers with a smile you need to show that you are trying.

YMMV

Yesterday morning I went to work. Walking into the building the admin looked up and said "How are you?" Without much thought I said "Fine." Walking into the cafeteria, one of my co-workers asked me the same question, I gave the same answer without a second thought. Another co-worked asked the same question not five seconds later. Once again I replied "Fine" ... somewhat annoyed, because he'd already heard me say the same thing a few seconds earlier. Walking down the corridor toward my office, I passed my boss, who asked me again. Somewhat tersely, I replied "I'm doing OK" and hurried on by. As I walked into my office, my office-mate looked up and said "morning, Bob ... how are you?" ... to which I barked "Do a search, you idiot!"

The thing you gotta keep in context is whether they're really looking for information or just trying to be sociable ... people come to ScubaBoard for both reasons ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[SC_Hoaty]

Good thing your office doesn't have a "report" button, Bob!

 

[jar546]

If everyone did a search vs posting on this board and creating new discussion, this board would not be as large, with a vast amount of information it does. I completely agree with Matt that often, it is the interaction that is wanted or a new perspective. Maybe a search reveals the exact same question but it is 2 or 3 years old and was only answered by 2 people. I want current information and an opinion of others. There are times when I did do a search and was not satisfied with what I found so I posted it again. This is what helps grown and diversify this board. Unfortunately, some just don't get it and they have the web-personality of a piss-ant.

Fortunately Matt, those people are the very clear minority and I simply let them battle their own demons by themselves. As you know, you can ignore them completely. What I have found is when no one responds to a combative post, the person loses as no one is sucked into their negativity. It is not always easy to ignore some of these posts, however. So keep posting any question you have so that you can help to grown this board which is what allows it to exist.

Thanks for such a great thread.

 

[sskasser]

If you read/hear something that can be taken two ways, and one of those ways pisses you off/hurts your feelings/makes you reach for the KA-BAR, take it the other way.

In person and online, some people are asses. In both instances, ignoring them has the dual benefit of giving them less attention and wasting less of your time.

Sometimes nice people have bad days and are temporary asses. Sometimes smart people have bad days and are temporary idiots.

When straining creek mud for gold, you don't keep the mud, do you?