Sunday, October 23, 2011

People are Jerks


From a python forum:

person 1: the permissions are okay, it is set on full control for the folders in question. still, the problem remains.
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person 2 (jerk): Is it your belief that anyone who uses your computer has full control? If so, what does having admin privileges mean? After considering those questions, once again think about the statement: your program is not you.
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person 1: okay i don't want to get into philosophical questions regarding who has control 
about what. i am trying to start learning python and i am already failing at the code i have posted. 




Often times you can find many programmers telling others what good questions are and bad questions. 
For instance, I have heard countless responses on online forums such as: 

"Why would you ask what the best method is? We can never know what is best. There are pros and cons to every option in programming. You will just have to try every method for your situation and then you will know which route to take in your problem."

What kind of attitude is this? It's terrible! Imagine if you were on a road trip and you stop at a gas station in a city. You then ask some stranger: 

"Where can I find the best Mexican food restaurant around here?" 

to which they reply:
"As is the nature of newcomers like you, your question is ambiguous. How do you expect me to know what the best Mexican food restaurant is for your situation? We can never even know what is best for ourselves, why would you ask me to know what is best for you?"

That (I hope) would never happen, but why does it happen all the time on the internet?