Re: problems with offtopics

[Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.net>]

Felix Kollmann wrote:

> > Why do you ask that here?
> 
> That's very easy to explain. I don't want to subscribe any mailing lists
> of this world because I want to know one thing about something.
> 
> So I miss a maillinglist for all and anything.

You mistake the needs of the questioner and the needs
of the person answering those questions.

Whilst a list on which any question can be asked is
useful to the questioner, it's extremely unhelpful
to people who give their time to answer questions
in areas for which they have expertise.

If I'm willing and able to answer questions on some
narrow field, I don't want to have to read through
10,000 questions that I know nothing about - and
that I don't care about the answer to.

Since questioners are getting something for nothing
and answerers are getting nothing for quite a bit of
personal effort, it make most sense to have lists
with accurately focussed topics.

So, by asking questions that are off-topic, you are
doing a disservice to those who generously offer their
help.

It's rude. Don't do it - no matter how convenient it
may seem to you.

-- 
Steve Baker                  http://web2.airmail.net/sjbaker1
sjbaker1@airmail.net (home)  http://www.woodsoup.org/~sbaker
sjbaker@hti.com      (work)