Trevor
0
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2009
- Messages
- 4,386
- Points
- 113
Communities evolve over time, it’s unavoidable. People who fit in stay. People who do not fit in do not stay. It’s a fact of life. But... we seem to have moved beyond that, somehow. To something more on the offensive.
I’ve noticed that new members are being run off with more frequency (or I’m noticing it more often), because they started their LPF career by asking a question when *GASP* they should have used search. Let’s be fair here – I’d not be around if Kendall (of HTD) hadn’t put up with a few dumb questions regarding my first laser build. Now, I won’t flatter myself and say that the forum would be missing a key member if I had been run off, but I definitely wouldn’t be here. If I had been chased away, some people would probably have less gray hair. Ahem, daguin, c0ldshadow, lasersbee, grenadier, the list goes on...
Take two threads from my early days here for example:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f53/gas-laser-safety-45315.html
In this one, I’ve asked about handling a HeNe laser safely. I even paste a blurb from the FAQ, but I’ve obviously not chased down every bit of reference material out there. The people that answered the thread did so remarkably patiently, and didn’t tell me to use the search engine.
http://laserpointerforums.com/f53/laser-dot-danger-43384.html
In this second one, I did some basic math and thought I might have proven a basic safety tenet wrong. Instead of running me off, people explained that there are more factors to consider and helped to elucidate them right there in that thread. Laser safety was firmly reinforced without the aid of torches and pitchforks.
So, I asked a dumb question. And I posted a thread thinking I might have outsmarted a bunch of people before me. But no one yelled at me to use search, or told me how much I was spamming, or how stupid my threads were. Instead, people took prettymuch the same amount of time to draw some useful information from their own experience and type it in the reply box. Instead of sending me away, they sent me in the right direction with information that I could take and continue learning independently.
And what would have happened had those threads gone in a different direction and I’d been left negative reputation until I faded to oblivion? Well, I’d probably be on LaserCommunity, or worse Youtube, burning things with lasers with no regard for the hobby.
What is gained by being mean to someone who’s posted, asking a dumb question? Well, perhaps a little bit of time is saved by not having to field an answer for them. If they leave, the community has gotten rid of a potential leech.
But what can be gained by being helpful? We cultivate another potentially productive member. We help to ensure that our hobby has a future. Even if the member is just given some search terms and a thread to read to get them started (as opposed to putting the information straight in their thread), it still helps them out. Even if it’s said that they should use search next time. It’s still shown them that this community is a good place to stay and learn about lasers.
If they do turn out to not learn and keep on posting threads asking dumb questions with no regard to trying to find out for themselves, then sure. They probably don’t fit in.
But until then, why not just be kind? We stand to lose much more than we stand to gain by chasing people away who have made the simple mistake of asking a question that we see as stupid.
I believe those who bait new members by being pointlessly cruel deserve the ban – not the member who was baited. Even just nicely telling someone to use search and leaving them a few keywords takes less time than formulating a cruel post. I'm just as guilty of doing this as the next person, but as much as I can I'm trying not to do that anymore.
I know I can’t change the community alone, and I know the community can’t change overnight. But why not try?
Why not hang up the torch and pitchfork in favor of giving new members a little bit of a grace period, a mulligan on their first post? Why not exhibit a little bit of mercy and help a new person out? Why not spend less than sixty seconds helping the future of the hobby? Why not try to remember where you came from?
Why not show a shred of humanity?
-Trevor
I’ve noticed that new members are being run off with more frequency (or I’m noticing it more often), because they started their LPF career by asking a question when *GASP* they should have used search. Let’s be fair here – I’d not be around if Kendall (of HTD) hadn’t put up with a few dumb questions regarding my first laser build. Now, I won’t flatter myself and say that the forum would be missing a key member if I had been run off, but I definitely wouldn’t be here. If I had been chased away, some people would probably have less gray hair. Ahem, daguin, c0ldshadow, lasersbee, grenadier, the list goes on...
Take two threads from my early days here for example:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f53/gas-laser-safety-45315.html
In this one, I’ve asked about handling a HeNe laser safely. I even paste a blurb from the FAQ, but I’ve obviously not chased down every bit of reference material out there. The people that answered the thread did so remarkably patiently, and didn’t tell me to use the search engine.
http://laserpointerforums.com/f53/laser-dot-danger-43384.html
In this second one, I did some basic math and thought I might have proven a basic safety tenet wrong. Instead of running me off, people explained that there are more factors to consider and helped to elucidate them right there in that thread. Laser safety was firmly reinforced without the aid of torches and pitchforks.
So, I asked a dumb question. And I posted a thread thinking I might have outsmarted a bunch of people before me. But no one yelled at me to use search, or told me how much I was spamming, or how stupid my threads were. Instead, people took prettymuch the same amount of time to draw some useful information from their own experience and type it in the reply box. Instead of sending me away, they sent me in the right direction with information that I could take and continue learning independently.
And what would have happened had those threads gone in a different direction and I’d been left negative reputation until I faded to oblivion? Well, I’d probably be on LaserCommunity, or worse Youtube, burning things with lasers with no regard for the hobby.
What is gained by being mean to someone who’s posted, asking a dumb question? Well, perhaps a little bit of time is saved by not having to field an answer for them. If they leave, the community has gotten rid of a potential leech.
But what can be gained by being helpful? We cultivate another potentially productive member. We help to ensure that our hobby has a future. Even if the member is just given some search terms and a thread to read to get them started (as opposed to putting the information straight in their thread), it still helps them out. Even if it’s said that they should use search next time. It’s still shown them that this community is a good place to stay and learn about lasers.
If they do turn out to not learn and keep on posting threads asking dumb questions with no regard to trying to find out for themselves, then sure. They probably don’t fit in.
But until then, why not just be kind? We stand to lose much more than we stand to gain by chasing people away who have made the simple mistake of asking a question that we see as stupid.
I believe those who bait new members by being pointlessly cruel deserve the ban – not the member who was baited. Even just nicely telling someone to use search and leaving them a few keywords takes less time than formulating a cruel post. I'm just as guilty of doing this as the next person, but as much as I can I'm trying not to do that anymore.
I know I can’t change the community alone, and I know the community can’t change overnight. But why not try?
Why not hang up the torch and pitchfork in favor of giving new members a little bit of a grace period, a mulligan on their first post? Why not exhibit a little bit of mercy and help a new person out? Why not spend less than sixty seconds helping the future of the hobby? Why not try to remember where you came from?
Why not show a shred of humanity?
-Trevor
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