Archives of the TeradataForum

Message Posted: Fri, 18 Jun 2004 @ 15:22:08 GMT

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I agree that there seems to be an increase in the number of notes where even a minimal effort by the Poster would have eliminated the need to post. To try and keep List traffic reasonable, I try to catch many of the 'RTFM', 'In-the-archives' and 'Your note is unreadable, try again' type notes, but I don't intercept all of them.

Originally, I tried to intercept all such posts. A few times, one or two of those notes got to the List and I was surprised when they developed into great threads. The point is that the Responder saw past the obvious question and addressed the underlying situation (which I missed completely).

There have been other cases where I jumped to a conclusion only to find that there are several solutions - some of those responses have been truly amazing and brilliant. If I had blocked the thread before it started, we would all be a great deal more ignorant.

As a result, if I'm not completely sure, I let the post through to the List. Unfortunately, for some posts, I should have gone with my first feeling and blocked them (I make mistakes - I got comfortable with that fact a long time ago).

The bottom line is that some questionable posts will get through to the List and I really can't see a way to filter them any better than I'm currently doing. I guess that I could engage in some form of elitism when it comes to membership, but I think there's enough of that already. Just a reminder: The TeradataForum was created for the beginner and well as the expert. The value of the TeradataForum comes from participation, even when mistakes or redundancy occur.

So if you have any ideas, I'm open to suggestions.

In the mean time, if you feel that a Poster could have done more work before sending their note, I would suggest that you simply ignore it. Somebody who keeps posting RTFM-type questions will eventually get the message (and if they don't, I'll probably drop their membership after giving them a warning).

A final point: The TeradataForum archives are open to the public and everybody has access to your posts. I would argue, whether this or other forums, that you should consider the impression that you're leaving. Consider a future employer trying a Google of "your name teradata". It's hard to claim top dollar if your web presence argues otherwise.

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