[R] draft of posting guide

[Wolski]

Hi!

The guide are in my opinion much to long. 
If someone posts a question to the mailing list its because he likes to get a answer (fast?).
The "Introduction" proposed by Peter Flom and the "Homework before posting" section will do it in my opinion.
The part:
"Homework before posting a question. " is enough.
It may be better to call it:
"How to find answers to urgent questions"


All this "stuff" about how to behave, and ask questions is superfluous in my opinion.  If you don't understand the question don't answer. If you don't have time to answer don't do it. If you don't understand the answers look for it somewhere else. If someone is rude on the mailing list I can ignore him. If I do not like answers from someone  I simply don't open the mails (Or put him into the spam filter if you are paranoic). If I don't like questions from someone I do the same. Its not public traffic, the underground, or the street, where you can't avoid contact with the smoke if someone are smoking ore where you have to leave the train if someone stinks or where you have to fight if someone is attacking someone else. 


I am very happy and I like the R-help list how it is.

So, Merry Christmas to all of you!


Eryk



*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 12/22/2003 at 10:18 AM Spencer Graves wrote:

>I don't study carefully every piece of available documentation for 
>everything (anything?) I do.  A major challenge is how to provide a 
>guide that will get used and will in the process improve the quality of 
>questions and answers. 
>
>      Best Wishes,
>      spencer graves
>
>Rolf Turner wrote:
>
>>This is in response to Gabor Grothendieck's commentary on Tony
>>Plate's draft guidelines for question-askers, which was posted a
>>couple of days ago.
>>
>>I disagree, from mildly to vehemently with just about everything in
>>Grothendieck's posting.  E.g. the ``tone'' of the draft should not
>>be ``friendlier''.  The purpose of the guidelines is to encourage
>>the asking of well-thought out questions and discourage the asking
>>of stupid ones.  This politically correct ``don't damage their
>>self esteem attitude'' has no place in the r-help list.
>>
>>A propos of bugs, for the uneducated beginner to assert that there is
>>a ``bug'' in software designed by some of the best and most
>>knowledgeable minds in the discipline, when the software works as
>>documented, is the height of presumptuous arrogance.
>>
>>The guide is and should be a guide for the question-askers.  The
>>responders who are voluntarily giving of their time and (often deep)
>>experise need not be constrained.  The R package and this help list
>>are free services provided voluntarily by some great people.  If
>>someone asks a stupid question and dislikes being told so in so many
>>words, well, that person is free to take his or her business
>>elsewhere.
>>
>>The one point I ***agree*** with is that questions about statistical
>>methodology should not be discouraged in any way, even if they are
>>not directly R-related.  There is always some sort of relationship,
>>such questions are interesting, and there is almost always some
>>insight to be gained by thinking about them in an R context.
>>
>>				cheers,
>>
>>					Rolf Turner
>>
>>______________________________________________
>>R-help at stat.math.ethz.ch mailing list
>>https://www.stat.math.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>>  
>>
>
>______________________________________________
>R-help at stat.math.ethz.ch mailing list
>https://www.stat.math.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help



Dipl. bio-chem. Eryk Witold Wolski    @    MPI-MG Dep. Vertebrate Genomics   
Ihnestrasse 73 14195 Berlin          'v'    
tel: 0049-30-84131285               /   \    
mail: wolski at molgen.mpg.de        ---W-W----    http://www.molgen.mpg.de/~wolski