[Techtalk] List help

[Kai MacTane]

At 9/2/02 08:16 PM , Jenn Vesperman wrote:
> > Jesika wrote:
> >
> > > Of course... ask a question to an entire list, and you manage to solve
> > > it yourself.
>
>Sometimes the act of formulating the question jogs something free in
>your mind and causes you to be able to solve it yourself. EVERYONE here
>has had that happen to them, more than once, so we all understand.

Heck, I often find that when I start writing a question to a list, I find 
the solution during the process of writing the question. In order to make 
the question as good as possible, I find that I have to profile it pretty 
thoroughly. Otherwise, I know people will just "Haven't you tried 
[incredibly obvious thing]?" And even if they ask it nicely (as people here 
generally do), I will *personally* feel like an idiot.

So, in the process of loading up the question email with all the little 
details that might matter, I often wind up finding new avenues to try... 
and one of them generally leads me to a solution.

(That GNU tar one recently was an interesting exception -- I *hate* GNU's 
"info", and often forget that it even exists. I've also gotten out of the 
habit of using it, because 90% of the time, the info file seems to have no 
more information than the man page. Looks like tar is an exception.)

                                                 --Kai MacTane
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"When nothing's sacred any more,
  When the demon's knocking on your door,
  You're still staring down at the floor."
                                                 --The Chameleons UK,
                                                  "Swamp Thing"