I’ve just got to get this off my chest. I belong to several newsgroups one of which is a web design group. It’s been a great source of inspiration, I’ve learned about some new scripts or applications, new ways to do things, someone comes along and shares a snippet of code, solves a problem. You get the idea. I’ve come onto the group several times with a question or a problem. More often than not, I’ve been helped, and cheerfully so. And I’ve done my fair share of helping out as well, giving back to the list.
But I have to say this:
Goddammit, people, learn to help yourselves!!!
There are certain rules of netiquette that should be observed. Especially when the group comprises professionals most of whom are paid by the hour and for whom time is money. I’m one such member. There have been more times than not that I’ve offered to help someone, asked them if my solution did indeed solve their problem only to have them disappear off the face of the earth. They’re johnny on the spot to send me an email with their problem. Once they’ve got the solution in hand, BAM. Gone like a puff of smoke without so much as a fare thee well. Okay, fine. I just put them on the list of ingrates never to help again. Mind you, I’m not asking to have my ass kissed. I’m not even asking for a thank you. I’m merely asking, do you need anything else from me because I do have a life and a business to run. Maybe next time, I should just send a big fat bill for services rendered.
But the biggest gripe tonight (hey, I told you I have a LOT to get off my chest and a fairly large chest at that!) are the ones who pop onto the list to ask an inane question, who haven’t bothered to look for the answer themselves before coming to the list and pestering everyone on it. You know what this tells me about them? It says that they are so important, and their time is so valuable that they cannot be bothered to look it up themselves. That they perceive everyone else around them to be inferior and their time of no value.
You couple that with a natural-born imbecile (oh girl, I have the emails to prove it) and … it just sends me straight into orbit. That I should have to spend nearly an hour explaining to someone where to find a certain feature in an application. Right down to providing a screen shot with big bright red circles and arrows exclaiming “Click Here!” … before they finally “get it.” How does such a person find their way out of bed in the morning? I guess gravity is their friend. And you know, that’s just lazy. It’s lazy and it’s asinine. I don’t know which is worse: stupidity or laziness masquerading as stupidity.
Okay, stick a fork in me, I’m done. Someone hold my drink while I climb down off my soapbox.
