surprising precision

[Ian Lance Taylor]

Steve Teale <steve.teale@britseyeview.com> writes:

> Congratulations on a helpful answer. Yours was the first one that did
> not display the almost conventional GCC guru arrogance.
>
> GCC would have a lot more participants/helpers if it were not for this
> unwritten convention of rudeness in the community.
>
> To be fair, this isn't just a GCC thing. I've worked in various shops
> where the software paid the wages, but if a new employee asked for help
> he/she would get a similar response.
>
> I understand the impatience of the gurus. If they tried to answer every
> naive question they'd never get any work done
>
> But, if you don't have anything helpful to say, then maybe it's better
> to bite your tongue! The person you are responding to may be an idiot,
> but he/she is not the only recipient of your message.

Are you talking about gcc-help here?  It seems to me that people on
gcc-help genuinely try to be helpful.  There is no percentage for
anybody in replying on gcc-help with an unhelpful answer.

When people don't know how to program, I do honestly think the most
helpful answer is to tell them, politely, to learn how to program.
It's gcc-help, not intro-programming.

I am generally concerned that the gcc community be seen as helpful
rather than forbidding, which is why I spend time on gcc-help.  So I
would like to hear more about this topic.

Ian