Overly brief answers (was Re: Terminal Server)

[epilogue at allstream.net]

On Mon, 21 Jun 2004 14:51:40 -0400
Bill Moran <wmoran at potentialtech.com> wrote:

> Kevin Stevens <freebsd at pursued-with.net> wrote:
> 
> > > On Mon, 21 Jun 2004 09:27:44 -0400
> > > Bill Moran <wmoran at potentialtech.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Nico Meijer <nico.meijer at zonnet.nl> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Hi Mike,
> > > > >
> > > > > > Can FreeBSD act like Windows Terminal Server, i.e. remote
> > > > > > access, multiple sessions?
> > > > >
> > > > > Yes.
> > > >
> > > > I wanted to start a brief discussion about these kinds of answers
> > > > to questions.
> > > >
> > > > I've been seeing this quite a bit lately.  I don't know if it's
> > > > just one person, of if multiple folks have picked up on it.
> > > >
> > > > <opinion>
> > > > This is not an answer to the question.  It does not answer the
> > > > question and does not contribute to the OPs knowledge of FreeBSD,
> > > > nor does it contribute to the list archives.  It's also a violation
> > > > of the rule against "me too" answers as laid out in "How to Get the
> > > > Best Results from FreeBSD-Questions".  It doesn't even serve to
> > > > educate the OP on how to ask better questins.
> > 
> > With it understood that opinions vary, I disagree with yours in this
> > case. The question was posed as a "yes or no" question, with no
> > followup. Therefore, "yes" or "no" *precisely* answers it.
> > 
> > For all we know, the OP was merely asking to get a quick determination
> > of what the solution set was.  I ask such questions of colleagues
> > often, and am not interested in the particulars at that point.
> > 
> > > > First off, there are actually two questions hidden in the post:
> > > > "Can FreeBSD act as a WTS?", and "can FreeBSD provide the same
> > > > services as WTS?"  Is "yes" your answer to both of them?  Because,
> > > > if it is, I'd like to know which software allows it to function as
> > > > a WTS, since my searches have not found any such software.
> > 
> > The OP didn't say "as", s/he said "like", and then went on to list the
> > criteria for "like".
> > 
> > > > This leads to the implied question of "what software provides the
> > > > capability" which (despite not being voice, directly) is pretty
> > > > obvious. You've totally ignored that question.  You could say that
> > > > "technically, he didn't ask" but it boils down to just being rude.
> > > > </opinion>
> > 
> > I don't generally answer implicit questions, and I don't believe that
> > behavior is rude.  Quite the contrary - I believe it is *respectful* to
> > grant the assumption that people mean what they say/ask.

Good points.  Further, I think that we *all* have reasoned assumptions
which inform our replies and with which we have to reckon.

For my part, I tend to assume that people asking general questions
about (or ostensibly specific questions which upon closer examination
reveal their limited exposure to / understanding of) FreeBSD are new to
the project and would probably benefit from whatever 'additional'
information / resources we are able to provide.

> > To do otherwise scans to me as "I don't think you know what you're
> > saying, so I'm going to assume I know better than you and treat you
> > like an idiot.".

I don't think that I've ever been insulted by someone offering me
additional or superfluous help.  E-mail is a fairly impersonal medium.  I
tend to give the benefit of the doubt, whenever possible.  Now, if I bought
a box of soap at the laudromat and was given the soap *and* a course on how
to put the quarters into the machine...

I suppose that ends my 2 cents on this thread.    :)

> > My favorite example is trying to extract a simple answer on how to
> > enable telnetd on a given system, which is guaranteed to produce a
> > firestorm of"don't use telnet" responses which have nothing to do with
> > the question, overtly assume the OP is an idiot, and show little or no
> > understanding about security postures in general or the OPs situation
> > in specific.  But I digress ;).
> > 
> > In this case, I see nothing wrong with the response.  If the OP
> > deliberately chose to frame a yes/no question, then s/he has their
> > response.  If they then want to frame followup questions, there's
> > nothing in the response to discourage them from doing so.  If we have
> > to make an assumption, let's make the assumption that they know how to
> > ask a question, rather than the dual assumption that they DON'T know
> > how to ask a question, and that we can guess what their intent actually
> > was.
> 
> Very valid points.  If I were going to look for someone to discuss the
> opposite side of the coin on this, I would go to you first, as you've
> managed to completely disagree with me in an intelligent fashion!  Bravo.
> 
> I don't have many arguments to place in response to your disagreement, so
> I'll keep my counter-opinions short:
> 1) I prefer to err on the side of too much information than to err on the
> side
>    of not enough.  This addresses a lot of your points, but is only a
>    matter of personal preference and therefore not anything to do with
>    official list policy or anything.  But it explains a lot of our
>    difference of opinion.
> 2) This "yes" email is only one of several I've seen over the last few
> weeks.
>    I'm not going to take the time to search them out, but I was starting
>    to wonder if an "air of smart-assedness" was infecting the list, I
>    supposed it's possible that I've been infected with something, though.
> 3) I posted the original "brief answer" email to promote discussion, and
> voice
>    my own opinion.  I find it refreshing to know that people who are
>    posting short answers don't do it mindlessly.  Even if I don't agree
>    with it, at least it has a thought-out reason.
> 
> -- 
> Bill Moran
> Potential Technologies
> http://www.potentialtech.com
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