useless responses

[rbr28]

Can we set up an automatic ban of any people who post "if you don't like it, fix it yourself", or similar types of responses. I'm just kidding, but seriously, that type of response aggravates me every time I see it, and it's utterly useless. I agree that it's nice when users give back something to the community doing development, but there are many ways to do that. Simply reporting a problem is a way of giving back. Many users will experience problems, just get frustrated, and give up. Taking the time to post a problem shouldn't be taken for granted.

Anyone who uses open-source is likely encouraged every day to give something back. Why, because they see the benefits of it every day and it's almost difficult to use open-source without somehow becoming involved in the community. No one needs to be beat over the head with that type of response every time they post. Users may benefit development by helping a friend learn to use Linux or a specific application, teaching a class, donating money, increasing awareness, whatever. Writing code is just one of many options and I'd say that for the overwhelming majority of people it is not even remotely the most effective way that they can contribute. It's nonsense to recommend that everyone who complains, asks for a feature, or reports a problem should contribute to development, or to imply that if you don't write code, you are just a useless complainer.

I'm in IT and have a great deal of expertise in many areas, but the amount of code I've written and the knowledge I have in that area is absolutely trivial. I'd be happy if I never had to write another line of code the rest of my life and I can't imagine the frustration of non-techie types being told they should help write code, regardless of how simple that might seem to some of us (i.e. making ebuilds). If you want me to write code for your project, just let me know and I'll turn your project into crap faster than you can blink an eye Please, don't beat people over the head with the do-it-yourself attitude. Even the do-it-yourself type of people can't take that approach with every single thing in their life and for 99% of the people out there, this stuff is just a tool. Some love coding enough to make it a career, some like it enough to make it a hobby, but as with anything else, not everyone finds it as interesting or enjoyable as everything else they can spend time on in their life.

[Abraxas]

Problems should be reported to bugzilla in the proper fashion. As for the attitude here on the Gentoo Forums I would say it is MUCH better than what you would get almost anywhere else, Linux related or not. I'm not sure what you are explicitly referring to but sometimes there isn't any other option other than writing your own code. It's kind of the point of OSS. If you're looking for someone to solve all of your problems for you then you should probably try a commercial distribution with support. Helping with Gentoo issues can be extremely difficult sometimes because of the sheer number of combinations of USE flags and CFLAGS that people use. Personally I am extemely happy with the atmosphere here. I spend time on a lot of boards and IRC chat rooms and none are as friendly and helpful.

[desultory]

[NathanZachary]

As an iteration, I think that MOST users here on the fora are more than happy to help. There will always be snide comments and remarks, but for the most part, I believe our community is very supportive. The "report" button can always be used if a thread or particular post really goes against the rules or generally acceptable mentality, and the mods/admins will deal with the issue accordingly.
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“Truth, like infinity, is to be forever approached but never reached.” --Jean Ayres (1972)
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[slycordinator]