Is it just me?

[FrancoisL]

That finds that many questions asked by people on progress are just plain lazy? It not hard to do a little research first, ask how to get started or where to find good info . Just saying i want to work with Webspeed to setup a Web Site , how do i do it step by step ain't gonna get a answer.

I like answering questions when people have specific problems or questions that i have the answer to but i don't think anyone here want to do the work for another person. Do people who ask these questions really expect people to write 10 pages documents when they don't even want to go read basic documentation or getting started books. It not like they're isnt a mountain of progress doc and white papers available.

Just curious ,

 

[KnutHandsome]

No, it's not just you. I guess it's the old RTFM thing. Some people are a little nervous, maybe and need a bit of hand holding to start off, others are, as you say, just plain lazy.

However, I don't think it happens that often. Most people who ask 'obvious' questions normally seem to gravitate eventually to the manuals first when they become more confident, and that's ok.

I have no issue with helping them, OTOH people who persist in using the forums instead of taking a few secs to right-click on a keyword and click help will get ignored by me after a while.

On the other (current) subject, it is possible that sometimes people who do not have experience in the relevant domain greatly underestimate the time and expertise required to resolve their problem, or the people who brought them in (on the cheap?) underestimated the cost of certain shortcuts (nb. I am not referring to any individuals or political topics, just general management naivety or greediness).

No doubt sometimes though they are just lazy chancers who expect us to give hours of our time for free. Which we often do...

 

[tamhas]

An example of how not to ask for help
http://forums.oracle.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=499980&start=0&tstart=0

 

[ABLsaurusRex]

That's my fault actually. PEG policy has always been the any on topic question is valid at any time. People get used to the relaxed atmosphere.
--
Greg
] |*\^/^/ /\|:|

 

[schaapie]

U mean like this?
http://www.progresstalk.com/showthread.php?t=110527

 

[dayv2005]

U mean like this?
http://www.progresstalk.com/showthread.php?t=110527

rofl i opened that up and it scrolled down by accident and all i seen was my avitar and i was like man i made the lazy comments thread. (i might have done this when i was very new t progress). THen i realized that i just replied to the guys rediculus thread haha. so i think im in the safezone on that one hahahaha

 

[katiecat]

This was probably the wrong thread for me to read on my first day of really exploring this site.

Threads like this are discouraging for new programmers and programmers who are new to Progress. It may also be that some people may not even know what to call what it is they're trying to do. Judging people based on the quality or tone of their question is making a lot of assumptions, including language proficiency and frustration level.

Sounds like it's been a long, long time since some of you were new at anything.

 

[tamhas]

I'm sure it happens that people jump to wrong conclusions, but I have seen a lot of examples here and at other Progress sites where the old hands are actually quite gentle and helpful to new people, as long as the new ones try. There are times when it seems like the person hasn't tried, but has posted to the forum a question where they haven't thought about the problem, haven't looked in the manual at all, haven't done any searching in the forum's history, in short, give every appearance of being lazy. This impression often gets re-enforced when the person doesn't listen to what is said, doesn't take suggestions and try them out, but rather waits for someone to write the code for them. I run out of patience with those. But, there are also genuine new people who have obviously tried and, like you say, they may not even know what to look up because they don't know what to call it. These people are usually very enthusiastic when one helps them and it can be a real pleasure to help them along the road to proficiency.

 

[KnutHandsome]

KatieCat, I'm surprised you seem to have taken a somewhat different message from reading this thread than I have.

You need to remember that although (for example) I may not be a newbie at Progress, I certainly am in other interests.

All* people ask is:

Make an effort yourself before coming to us.

Some posters give the distinct impression they have no idea there is a genuine human being with a finite lifespan on the other side of the thread.



*"thanks" would be nice sometimes as well.

 

[TomBascom]

You're right, it probably isn't a good thread to read on your first day

Some context might be helpful -- it is an old thread and, at the time, there was quite a spate of very demanding posts by people who were very clearly not lifting a finger to help themselves.

 

[KnutHandsome]

Judging people based on the quality or tone of their question is making a lot of assumptions, including language proficiency and frustration level.

This is a very valid point.

As someone who is pathetically semi-bilingual, I bear that in mind when somebody is posting who clearly does not have English as a first language.

However, my hackles raise at text speak (an increasing occurrence on this forum), as it indicates a laziness that is often reflected in the content of the question.

 

[EarthGirl]

No, it's not just you. Many of us agree.

There's an interesting note about text speak on the Java Glossary at mindprod.com. I would quote it here but it contained profanity and it didn't seem right to take it out in this case. The link to it is here:
http://mindprod.com/jgloss/textspeak.html