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http://www.phpfreaks.com/forums/index.php/topic,308005.msg1455616.html#msg1455616

 

I'm siding very slightly with the author on this one.

 

When searching in Google myself, I found it difficult too (spent a minute or two). The actual answer found was one started by the author in another forum! http://forums.mysql.com/read.php?52,381865,381885#msg-381885

 

When someone posts, I would rather people just not answer rather than give attitude. Sometimes it does seem that people respond just to get their post count up, although I'm sure that isn't what Fenway is doing.

 

HOWEVER, if nobody responded then people would have to pay for the help so I suppose attitude and a tiny bit of help is better than none - but it can waste time.

 

In reality, no expert is going to go on here and just bang out answers all day / evening, they're going to want something from it and a little attitude to a newbe gives some enjoyment when you know so much yourself I suppose.

 

It also seems the author became a little unfair later on but I don't see why his post couldn't have been ignored or answered. Imagine if he had spent at least 15 minutes trying to find out the answer before coming to PHP Freaks, you'd be able to see why he was annoyed.

 

BUT, all help is free, so you can't really complain. There are other forums where the responses are less but so is the attitude. We all have the choice to which we use.

 

Too many people on here do tend to post a quick attitude post though.

I personally think people are a little too quick to give up - Spending a "minute or two" or "at least 15 minutes" trying to solve a problem before asking on a forum is ridiculous. I think the initial response was valid, it was a simple question with a easy to find answer, it appeared as though no effort was made prior to posting. That thread, did however get out of control quickly. It all boils down to people being lazy and thinking that they're entitled to free help a lot of the time, unfortunately.

"WTF asshole, I asked for my burger with no mayo! Seriously, this place would be awesome if it weren't for the fact they always fuck my shit up.  Don't make me go to the McJerkOffs down the street!" That is you right there.  Except you're a fucking bum.  A starving bum wandering in from the street, asking for a free meal and then complaining about the food donated to him.

 

But he didn't get his food. He was a a starving bum that got mocked. Feed him or ignore him.

"WTF asshole, I asked for my burger with no mayo! Seriously, this place would be awesome if it weren't for the fact they always fuck my shit up.  Don't make me go to the McJerkOffs down the street!" That is you right there.  Except you're a fucking bum.  A starving bum wandering in from the street, asking for a free meal and then complaining about the food donated to him.

 

But he didn't get his food. He was a a starving bum that got mocked. Feed him or ignore him.

 

No, that analogy was meant to convey a starving bum who is being picky about the food he gets.  He did get his food - just not made the way he wanted.

I'm judging the initial altercation, not what he did afterwards.

 

I doubt he would've done that if his post had been ignored or answered.

 

However, clearly his true colours did come out in the end and I'm surprised he's not been banned if it was that bad.

 

I do see a lot of 'attitude posts' lately on PHP Freaks though.

 

He got his food in the end, but after a lot of pushing and abuse.

 

Funny how we're spending more time discussing this guy. Surely there are people we need to help (or abuse) (that was a joke sort of by the way)!

 

Fenway's comment was neither unfair nor unwarranted IMO. The fact is that many people who post questions on this forum do not search before they post a question, and when prompted with a response like Fenway's they might be more inclined to attempt to find the solution on their own.

"WTF asshole, I asked for my burger with no mayo! Seriously, this place would be awesome if it weren't for the fact they always fuck my shit up.  Don't make me go to the McJerkOffs down the street!" That is you right there.  Except you're a fucking bum.  A starving bum wandering in from the street, asking for a free meal and then complaining about the food donated to him.

 

But he didn't get his food. He was a a starving bum that got mocked. Feed him or ignore him.

 

Fenway's response was intended to convey the expression, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."  By just dishing out answers you are neglecting the user thinking for themselves, and consequently by nature, making that same user always coming back for a quick CnP answer.  These are free forums, no one is getting paid here, if someone has 'attitude' ignore them and let the other staff members deliberate and determine if they are out of line.

But he didn't get his food. He was a a starving bum that got mocked. Feed him or ignore him.

 

I prefer to ignore him. Damn bum cannot even help himself so he has to beg. It is just like my dog, I do not feed him either if he begs. However, if he does a nice trick to earn a treat, I may decide to give him something.

The root word forms for research are 're' and 'search', i.e. keep searching until you find the answer.

 

It doesn't mean run and ask someone to tell you some basic piece of information that could be found in 120 seconds of looking, then get bent out of shape when someone asks if you even tried to find the answer yourself.

 

There's a reason that programming languages are one of the most heavily documented technical subjects on the planet, it is simply impossible to effectively use a programming language without making use of the documentation as the primary source of information about the basic elements of that language.

 

Had the OP in that thread simply looked at the list of mysql functions, he would have found what he was looking for AND he would have also been able to read all the relevant information about the function he found so that he would know if it was an equivalent for the function he was trying to replace. He might have even learned if there was a better way to accomplish the same task.

 

Instead the OP was looking for a lazy-way short-cut and those who attempt to take short-cuts in programming often trip and fall down along the path and end up taking longer to accomplish what they are attempting.

 

That thread (and those like it) boil down to taking the time to learn something about a technical subject like a programming language vs do the least amount of work possible and taking short-cuts that end up taking longer than it would have taken to just research what you are trying to find out.

I'm judging the initial altercation, not what he did afterwards.

 

I doubt he would've done that if his post had been ignored or answered.

 

However, clearly his true colours did come out in the end and I'm surprised he's not been banned if it was that bad.

 

I do see a lot of 'attitude posts' lately on PHP Freaks though.

 

He got his food in the end, but after a lot of pushing and abuse.

 

Funny how we're spending more time discussing this guy. Surely there are people we need to help (or abuse) (that was a joke sort of by the way)!

 

 

I don't think any of us have an issue with the members that say "My boss just dumped this on my lap.  I'm a designer, not a developer, and don't even know where to start."  That's an understandable reason for their ignorance, and a statement like that indicates to us that we need to treat the issue with delicacy.  In fact, I like helping those people because, if I do it well, I may foster an interest in them learning more PHP down the road.

 

The OP in the thread you linked clearly has some PHP experience, since he's familiar with the built-in postgreSQL functions.  He can't use the "I'm a complete newbie" excuse.  I don't think it's unreasonable for fenway, or anyone else, to question if he looked at the manual, especially since the answer to his question is right there and easy to find via Google.  The first place to look, regardless of the problem, is always the language's documentation.  This is problem solving 101.

 

We're here to help, not be a substitute brain.

I personally find his reaction hilarious, and a great addition to some of the posts you get on the forums. These members come and go, and I'm surprised it wasn't thorpe (no disrespect to thorpe :)) who caused the drama this time. I think they feel insecure because the answer is general so clear, so they go way overboard and portray themselves as a bit of an idiot.

This thread is more than a year old. Please don't revive it unless you have something important to add.

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