> There is no such things as a stupid question, just a stupid answer.

I've *always* hated that cliche about there being no stupid questions.
Yes, there are questions, that in a given context, are stupid.

> One of things I have deplored over the many years I've been involved in
> various Internet fora is the tendency of a lot of people to put down others
> for asking "stupid" questions, in a manner that would get them a punch in
> the nose if they did it in person.

Yes, that is rude and ignorant, even more so than the initial question.

> At one time, we were ALL beginners. The very first question ANY of us asked
> was a stupid question from some other person's point of view. Including,
> I'm sure, Olin's first question.

Now that would be interesting to see... Do the archives go back that
far?

> The things that distinguishes a good teacher from a poor one is the ability
> to adapt to the student - to encourage him, no put him down; to make him
> eager to ask more questions and learn more, not to quiver in fear wondering
> whether he will be insulted or laughed at.

You are right. I've been working in higher education for 25 year, and I
think you're right. However, it seems that there aren't a whole lot of
good teachers out there.

And this forum is not answered by teachers. It is answered by real people,
with all that entails. Some of the posters here *are* good teachers. Some
of them are really good at what they do.

> Olin  may be a technical genius, but he sure is a lousy teacher.

Agreed. And he was warned by James that the next time he goes off the
handle he would be expelled.

I just don't think that *this* time fit the definition. However, I'm
not the list owner, and I don't know what happened off-list. I suspect
that Olin generated enough administrative traffic to cause James some
problems.

> "RTFM" is a barely adequate response (admittedly, a lot more people should
> R the FM before asking questions, but human nature being what it is ...).
> "RTFM you idiot" is not.

Agreed on all counts here. I think that things would go a lot more
smoothly if people would leave the name-calling to children. It is
possible to phrase things just a bit more diplomatically so that the
message goes across more smoothly.
--
D. Jay Newman           !
jay@sprucegrove.com     ! Xander: Giles, don't make cave-slayer unhappy.
http://enerd.ws/robots/ !

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