Re: basic question: going back to dired

[Tim X]

"Lennart Borgman (gmail)" <lennart.borgman@gmail.com> writes:

> Tim X wrote:
>>>> I think the real source of issues regarding terminology is actually more
>>>> a reflection of laziness.
>>>
>>> It might be true in some cases, but please be careful when using such
>>> statements. The laziness may equally well be in your side in that you do
>>> not try to understand all details well enough when it comes to why some
>>> things matter.
>>>
>> and you tell me to be careful about statements!
>
> Sorry, but I am not perfect at that. Some things are a bit difficult to
> express.
>

That's OK. I think I know what you mean.

>> You know nothing of me
>
> Yes, I no know more than what I have been reading from you here.
>

Which has been part genuine, part devil's advocate and part frustration
after seeing the same go round and round again and again. 

>> For the record, my comment on laziness is based on the observation that 
>>
>> 1. The majority of people who I've assisted, either directly or via
>> forums like this newsgroup have, when asked, admitted they have not read
>> the manual or run the tutorial because they couldn't be bothered or
>> don't like reading manuals. That to me is essentially laziness - they
>> would rather send a question to this group than bother doing the work to
>> find out for themselves. 
>
> It is my experience too, but my conclusion is different.
>
> In some cases I have found it to be laziness, but in other cases it is more
> of constructive critic - expressed in a way that some people might find a
> bit extreme.
>

Hmm. Can't say I can see it like that. For me, to be constructive, it
should include (in the case of free software), constructive action and
not what all too often just comes across as moaning from people who want
it changed, but who are not prepared to actually do anything
constructive to make the change happen. All too often, there seems to be
this strong attitude that all yuo need to do is moan about it in a
newsgroup and somebody else will jump up and fix things. While this may
be OK in commercial systems where the vendor wants to maintain sales, it
just doesn't work with free software that is maintained and extended by
volunteers. To some extent, rightly or wrongly, I have the attitude,
step up or shut up. BTW, this is not directed at any particular
individual. 

Tim

-- 
tcross (at) rapttech dot com dot au