In comp.sys.mac.programmer.misc Peter Olcott <NoSpam@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
> "Michael Ash" <mike@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:1162091130.43223@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> In comp.sys.mac.programmer.misc Peter Olcott <NoSpam@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
>>>
>>> "Michael Ash" <mike@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>> news:1162069400.16399@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>>> In comp.sys.mac.programmer.misc Peter Olcott <NoSpam@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
>>>>> Can this be done in Mac OS, and how is it done?
>>>>
>>>> Did you not see the six responses you got in the other thread where
you
>>>> asked the exact same question?
>>>
>>> Most of the answers were wrong, because I was not specific enough with
my
>>> question, and the one answer that was not wrong left out details that
I
>>> needed.
>>
>> Starting a new thread with no acknowledgement of the previous thread is
>> violating rule #9. This newsgroup isn't a machine, it's just a place
for
>
> Exactly what difference does it make?
Thin-skinned people such as myself tend to feel it is insulting. People
who are insulted generally don't want te help out.
What difference does politeness make? In theory nothing, in practice
everything.
>> people to discuss things. Don't treat it like a game where you just
have
>> to get the format correct so you can get your answer. If we were all
face
>> to face you would probably say something like, "sorry, I was unclear,
let
>> me start over", before you actually did start over; do the same even
>> though we're all just phosphors on the screen.
>
> Except with newsgroups you could very well get an entirely different set
of
> people that never saw the first message, because the different subject
line
> screened them out, or for many other reasons. Although newsgroup
postings have
> some of the aspects of a conversion, they also have some of the aspects
of mass
> communication, one can not correctly ignore the latter.
You *could*, but guess what, you didn't. And you won't in the future,
either. Generally the same bunch of regulars read a large number of the
messages. Obviously I read both. It's *much* better to acknowledge the
previous thread and momentarily confuse the people who didn't read it (as
if they'll be confused at all, they know what's what) than it is to ignore
the previous thread and piss off everybody in the group.
>> And on a slightly different topic, don't just put your question in the
>> subject, put a subject in the subject and put your question in the
body,
>> it makes it easier to read and refer to, and frees you from having to
>> squeeze the question into a few dozen characters.
>
> Exactly what difference does it make?
> My subject and my question are one and the same thing, If I don't get
right to
> the point immediately the majority of people that only read the subject
before
> deciding whether or not to even look at the message will never get
around to
> seeing my question.
Your question was too short. This was your problem in the first thread,
and why you got a bunch of answers you didn't want. It's *still* too
short. A good question should describe the context and background of the
question, not just a one-sentence thing that you're trying to accomplish.
If you're still confused as to why I care about any of this, I suggest you
read this:
http://www.mikeash.com/getting_answers.html
Assuming your goal is to get help, following the rules is the best way to
accomplish it.
--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software
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