Mail Archives: djgpp/1997/03/27/14:16:16
George Foot wrote:
>
> I'm not sure 'hates' is the right word here; it is sometimes
> irritating to see questions on basic C syntax, but it is probably more
> annoying to see incorrect responses to such questions :)
>
> These questions should be asked in comp.lang.c, and the asker should
> read a good book/tutorial on C first.
I personally will always try to answer any newbie programming question
in as much detail as I can, and only then gently remind the user that
this isn't the best place to ask these sorts of questions. Perhaps I'm
creating a double standard for myself, but I feel that it's far more
productive to actually try to help than to just rant at the person to go
somewhere else!
OTOH, this _is_ a support newsgroup/mailing list for the DJGPP compiler,
not a general programming newsgroup. General programming questions
don't _belong_ here, any more than questions about football belong in a
water polo newsgroup. And it is far better in the long run for people
to get organized instruction (books, classes, tutorials) than it is to
pick up bits of programming piecemeal from newsgroup postings.
The real problem is in classifying questions that are both general and
DJGPP-specific... i.e., the famous "this works for X compiler but not
for DJGPP." 90% of the time the user is mistaking compiler-specific
behavior for generic C, and this is all that needs to be pointed out.
But are these appropriate questions to ask here?
There are just too many gray areas for me to feel totally comfortable
setting an absolute definition of what is and is not allowed in the
newsgroup. The newbie posts don't comprise that significant a
proportion of the traffic anyway.
> Anything which is specific to DJGPP should be asked here; questions
> about programming techniques and style in standard C, for instance,
> should be asked in other groups. I don't think anyone minds too much
> so long as the question isn't too basic.
Same here. If the question is really basic, I tend to answer and
suggest that the conversation be continued privately, as opposed to on
the newsgroup. Maybe that's the best solution?
> I suggest that you continue reading this group even if you decide to
> read a general C programming group as well. You'll find a lot of
> useful information here, and this is the place to ask DJGPP questions.
Definitely.
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