Wouter van Ooijen voti.nl> writes: >=20 > > What > > I then saw was YOU attacking this person (a comment like "If you've got > > a problem with something so basic, then a PIC temperature controller is > > way over your head."). This is unacceptable. >=20 > Why on earth is such a comment unacceptable when it is basically true,=20 > and could potentially steer the OP towards a course that has more chance= =20 > of success? (Like the two light bulbs, a relais, and a temperture sensor= =20 > - who exactly suggested this??). >=20 This comment is not acceptable because it actively discourages a person fro= m learning. I often see this in young scientists in my lab, where they learn through experimentation and making errors and troubleshooting. Then, after going through mistakes, troubleshooting, looking for answers in books/internet/PICList etc., one truly "gets it" and becomes an expert. Of course there are several levels of experts (e.g. professional EE expert is = way different from hobby expert, if not in technical knowledge then in approach= to solving problems). I can also relate a personal experience with that. If I had just followed advice above and did not start tinkering with PICs some 15 yr ago I would s= till be doing relays and mercury switches. What's fun in that?=20 I think one of the problems why people get all wound up about the way Olin responds to newbies is that there are 2 sets of expectations: 1. In Olins's view (expressed by him more then once, if not in the same exa= ct words) everybody who is posting to the list should be (i) an electronics ex= pert with over 20 yr of experience, and have (ii) perfect English, (iii) complet= e understanding of all PICList rules as interpreted by Olin, and (iv) just be generally perfect. By this standard even Olin himself is not perfect (e.g. spelling could be better, and definitely misspellings are not excusable for= such a veteran PICLister who bashes other people about proper english?) 2. In admin's view people are not perfect. There should be an understanding= that people who join PICList have varying expertise and varying goals, some are freshly minted EE, some just hobbyists trying to learn this how to make the= ir first robot/temp controller/LED blinky. =20 The point I am trying to make: get people some slack. Everybody has differ= ent backgrounds. If a person is rude in your opinion, ignore him/her and let a= dmins do their job and reprimand/correct that person.=20 With respect, Sergey Dryga http://beaglerobotics.com --=20 http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .