Why we have FAQs [Re: Slightly puzzled]

[nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates)]

In article <324E1664.70C6@mc.net>, anomaly3@mc.net <anomaly3@mc.net> wrote:
>I have been following this NG for a while, and the flames come and go. 
>It is abnormal to have this many flames in a non-smut NG. 

   I'm not sure what you're reading, but it may be solely moderated
newsgroups, esoteric scientific ones, or something else. Some of the
other real high-traffic newsgroups I read have far worse flame levels.

   I encourage you to drop by rec.humor (90+% garbage, and not getting
any lower), rec.games.video.sega (or the complimentary sony/nintendo
ones), or rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5, monitor them for a week and say
that the perpetual flames on them are abnormal. And if you're looking
for flames, go to any .advocacy newsgroup-- all flames, zero content.

   Without moderated newsgroups, lack of flames is a rarity on usenet.


>The only 
>thing that irritates me is for the 1000th+ time seeing someone being 
>referred to the FAQ. I could care less about an FAQ. 

   Funny, why do most newsgroups have them? Why are there entire
machines (rtfm.mit.edu) for archiving them? Because they're a darn
fine thing, and usenet at large has accepted them. If you've got a
problem with FAQs, I suggest you take it up with the maintainers of
the ~1000 FAQs in existence. 

   Let me quote from the FAQ on FAQs. [Yes, such a thing does exist :]

---
From: russ@silicom.co.il (Russ Hersch)
Newsgroups: news.announce.newusers,news.newusers.questions,news.answers
Subject: FAQs about FAQs

[Rest of headers snipped]


Archive-name: faqs/about-faqs
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: Aug. 23, 1996

This article is a description and primer on Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs) articles and lists.        

[SNIP]

1.4)  What are FAQs used for?

    Before asking a question in a USENET newsgroup, check out the
    appropriate FAQs.  If you can't find the answer to your question
    there, then you can post your question to the newsgroup.  Frequently
    asked questions in a newsgroup tend to make the news hard to read.
    With more news traffic, there is more to sift through.  Do everyone a
    favor, first try to find the applicable FAQs.  Then read them.  If
    you can't find them, look for them.  If you still can't find them,
    ask where they are.  Then read them.

    If after reading the appropriate FAQs, you still can't find the
    answer to your question, then you can post your question to the
    appropriate newsgroup.  It is recommended that after you receive your
    answer(s), you post a summary to the newsgroup.  It might also be
    nice to notify the maintainer of the appropriate FAQ(s) of the
    answers so that they can update their articles accordingly (keep in
    mind that they don't always have the time to scan the newsgroups for
    new information).

    Don't assume that the FAQ maintainer is willing or able to answer
    every question he or she receives.  Some make every attempt possible
    to answer as best as they can.  Others either just get too many
    questions to deal with, or they're busy with other things.  Please
    keep this in mind - it might be better to ask your question in a
    newsgroup.

---

   In other words, it's recommended usenet behavior to check for FAQs
before posting. The newsgroup news.announce.newuser (which newbies
SHOULD be subscribed to when they start news for the first time-- trn
does so, other quality software does the same also) contains many
usenet basics such as that. 

   If people were better educated before they posted FAQ questions,
there'd be no need to educate them later. Why don't you campaign to
the authors of non-quality newsreaders and ISPs to steer people in the
right place sooner rather than later?

>Besides, most 
>people who get the infernal referral are newcomers who haven't the 
>slightest idea where the FAQ is, or that it even exists. 

   But afterwards, they do, as they should. And what is wrong with that?
   
Nathan Mates
--
<*> Nathan Mates http://www.visi.com/~nathan/      <*>
# What are the facts? Again and again and again-- what are the _facts_?
# Shun wishful thinking, avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors
# think-- what are the facts, and to how many decimal places?  -R.A. Heinlein