after a few weeks of lurking, i noticed something. this can be a brutal place for a neophyte. i see many questions answered with pretentiousness, attitude and hostility. since i fall into the area between expert and newbie (somewhere comfortable in the mediocre area) i have a public service bulletin for both extremes.
pretentious experts:
relax.. if the superior race you were descended from came down in a UFO tomorrow and took all of you back to your planet, guess what?
the rest of us would figure it out without you. thats a fact.
newbies: learn how to ask a question
http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
Comments
GeckoMusic wrote: Nice idea, but your FAQ is written for cyber/c
GeckoMusic wrote: Nice idea, but your FAQ is written for cyber/computer hackers trying to extract information out of people in the know. Not for newbies interested in learning something productive. I am inclined to think this may be SPAM.
Not a hacker,
Steve
not spam, the concepts are interdisciplinary
and not the hackers you think. you are referring to crackers, warezdoodz, phreaks, luzers, and internet criminals
those are not hackers
also, i am in no way affiliated with eric raymond. he is a brilliant computer scientist. i happened across his site years ago.
see also: http://catb.org/jargon/html/crackers.html
http://catb.org/jargon/html/introduction.html
-dave_p
also not a hacker, they too take themselves too seriously and exhibit asuperiority complex. but, that is an extraordinarily useful guide to asking a good question.
/Didn't click the haxor link. Nice idea, but your FAQ is writt
/Didn't click the haxor link.
Nice idea, but your FAQ is written for cyber/computer hackers trying to extract information out of people in the know. Not for newbies interested in learning something productive. I am inclined to think this may be SPAM.
Not a hacker,
Steve
about that
everyone seems to have a misunderstanding about this hacker thing. that has nothing to do with the article i posted. not that i have any interest in defending or qualifying that culture, at least know what you are dealing with before you brush it off in a derogatory way. i dont want people to immediately discount good information because now they think they are clicking on some haxor link and are going to start recieving porn spam or antivirus 2009. that article is the farthest thing from that.
an excerpt:
There is a community, a shared culture, of expert programmers and networking wizards that traces its history back through decades to the first time-sharing minicomputers and the earliest ARPAnet experiments. The members of this culture originated the term ‘hacker’. Hackers built the Internet. Hackers made the Unix operating system what it is today. Hackers run Usenet. Hackers make the World Wide Web work. If you are part of this culture, if you have contributed to it and other people in it know who you are and call you a hacker, you're a hacker.
The hacker mind-set is not confined to this software-hacker culture. There are people who apply the hacker attitude to other things, like electronics or music — actually, you can find it at the highest levels of any science or art. Software hackers recognize these kindred spirits elsewhere and may call them ‘hackers’ too — and some claim that the hacker nature is really independent of the particular medium the hacker works in. But in the rest of this document we will focus on the skills and attitudes of software hackers, and the traditions of the shared culture that originated the term ‘hacker’.
There is another group of people who loudly call themselves hackers, but aren't. These are people (mainly adolescent males) who get a kick out of breaking into computers and phreaking the phone system. Real hackers call these people ‘crackers’ and want nothing to do with them. Real hackers mostly think crackers are lazy, irresponsible, and not very bright, and object that being able to break security doesn't make you a hacker any more than being able to hotwire cars makes you an automotive engineer. Unfortunately, many journalists and writers have been fooled into using the word ‘hacker’ to describe crackers; this irritates real hackers no end.
The basic difference is this: hackers build things, crackers break them.
There are a few things that will bring out the worst in those of
There are a few things that will bring out the worst in those of us who have been around here for a while. I'm far from a "pro", but I think I know what I don't know.
When folks come in asking clueless questions about a $4000 plugin bundle, it means that they either have more money than brains for spending that much without knowing what they're getting, or (more likely), they've downloaded a crack but are too clueless to know what it's for. The first guy is likely hopeless because he thinks expensive gear and plugins can overcome his lack of ability - the second one is an ignorant thief and deserves to be bashed.
When folks ask a nebulous question, want a detailed and presice answer while refusing to provide any detail about their situation - they think there's a magic formula that will work right every time - and they aren't willing to take the time to figure it out for themselves.
When folks come in talking about their "friend" who's a recording whiz-kid - told them about how to process your vocal so it sounds "pro" - but can't find the info now. First, it isn't a cookbook process - Second, if your friend is so smart, why aren't you asking them?
And with any of these questions and many more along the same lines, the OP won't "listen" to any of the responses - they are so sure they're right that it's pointless to try to reason with them.
Never argue with an idiot. They'll drag you down to their level, and beat you with experience.
space if the capitalization thing is directed at me, i concede y
space
if the capitalization thing is directed at me, i concede your point. that said, i am a c programmer and have little time for capitalization.
the article does make note of your points btw
i make an effort at punctuation.
unfortunately my spelling is declining with age, i slip on a few common words. thats called laziness i guess.
the real message in the original post is more for the noobs i guess, gives some perspective on why they may encounter a hard time and good ways to avoid it.
and to remind others to maybe step back before you rail into someone.
as for me, i can take my lumps.
i can understand the frustration from both sides
with that i digress. anything else i may or may not post here will be a positive contribution. maybe i will ask a good question, or answer a few.
at least we had something to talk about today, it was a little slow.
Zemlin wrote: "Never argue with an idiot. They'll drag you down
Zemlin wrote:
"Never argue with an idiot. They'll drag you down to their level, and beat you with experience."
So true, I try to never have a battle of wits with unarmed men.
The number of people who ask for advice with minds closed is mind boggling. I am not talking about those who just don't understand the answers they are getting, but those who argue with the answers they recieve from experienced people.
dave_p wrote: i concede your point. that said, i am a c program
dave_p wrote: i concede your point. that said, i am a c programmer and have little time for capitalization.
main()
{
your.statement = "Classic.";
}
Sorry for my misunderstanding of the word "hacker." Unless you are in the hacker culture it seems to have a different definition.
Quite frankly, with all of my years of experience, I think I'm t
Quite frankly, with all of my years of experience, I think I'm the worst of the best? That's better than being the best of the worst. Of course it's probably better to have the wurst, with mustard? And so I believe my recommendations to people when ridiculous questions are asked are appropriately inappropriate?
A walking contradiction
Ms. Remy Ann David
Nice idea, but your FAQ is written for cyber/computer hackers tr
Nice idea, but your FAQ is written for cyber/computer hackers trying to extract information out of people in the know. Not for newbies interested in learning something productive. I am inclined to think this may be SPAM.
Not a hacker,
Steve