[Typo3] Blank Space help

[JoH]

>> Answers should be:
>>
>> polite [ ]
>> competent [ ]
>> free of charge [ ]
>>
>> choose two ...
>>
>
> Woah... This was completely uncalled for. I was going to let your long
> rant go, but I don't want other newbies to get the wrong impression.
>
> This statement goes against everything TYPO3 stands for -- sharing and
> community.

OK - my english vocabulary can't be compared with that of a native speaker,
but as far as I understand:
"Sharing" in this case means that I am willing to give others my advice for
free. And I do this for more than 3 years now.
"Community" in this case stands for a number of people working together for
and with TYPO3 helping each other. And I do this for more than 3 years now.
Maybe I have been missing something, but I can't find the passage in these
definitions that forces me to behave like others want me to.
Even newbies can get any help they want from me for free, as long as they
accept my terms and conditions.

> I've actually been hearing a lot of complaints, both on and
> off list about the mailing list and I didn't realize how bad it was
> until now. This type of thing could seriously damage T3's reputation.
> I have volunteered many hours over the years to promote and spread
> T3, but if new people are pushed away when they ask for help, what is
> the point?

Sorry but this is getting ridiculous!  - Who has been pushing people away
when they ask for help? - Surely not me!
Stephen had some problems and I told him, that they are the result of crappy
HTML code which might be caused by using a static template.
This is simply a fact. You can call it however you like, but the code will
stay what it is - crappy.
Then I told him where to find better approaches for mastering his first
TYPO3 site.
What more could one expect? We are not in pre school here, where children
show you their first pictures which are looking horrible but you still tell
them they did a great job.
Most of the people posting to the newsgroups should be old enough to stand
some criticism even if the diction might be harsh sometimes.

> Joey, I think you may have been around here too long because you seem
> to be getting frustrated with everyone's questions. Just because a
> newbie asks about something that you've heard "a thousand times"
> before doesn't mean you can take your frustration out on them. They
> won't understand why you are frustrated and it will just push them
> away. Remember, it's new to them and we were all newbies once. We
> want to encourage more newbies, because, if we get more people
> interested in learning TYPO3, they can contribute back to the mailing
> list and you won't have to worry about answering the same newbie
> questions.

Well - usually I am not as frustrated as you might assume. Even answering
the same questions again and again (which was definitely not the problem in
this case) doesn't frustrate me at all, because I know that a newbie can not
know all the sources of information if he has never been on typo3.org or the
newsgroups before. If I find the time, the answer will be more detailed, if
not he will still find some useful links that help him getting started.
Read my answer to Stephens question again and you might notice that I did
nothing to take my frustration out on anybody.

> So let's keep it "polite" (always), "competent" (answering to the best
> of your ability), and "free of charge" because that was what the
> English mailing list was set up for. If you don't like that, maybe
> you should start a separate mailing list that has these rules clearly
> posted. How about a newsgroup called "typo3-sink-or-swim? :)

Again you are the victim of your own misinterpretations. In fact it should
be "learn to swim before you jump into a pool". Don't you think it's better
to inform people about this fact instead of watching them drowning? Don't
you think it would be even better to tell them where they can learn how to
swim? - Exactly this is what I have done - nothing more, nothing less!
Looking at the history of 50.000 messages in this list there where only a
few people having problems with the tone of my postings. Most of them
appreciate my advice, because they know that it is almost helpful for them
and they don't care if I call their code "crappy" or "technically disabled"
as long as they know they did something wrong and how to get rid of it. So
if there are a handful of people (and I am starting to wonder why most of
them are located in the US) who seem to have problems when somebody writes a
word like "crap" why don't you setup a list for them and call it
"typo3-for-the-thin-skinned"?

Its about doing business with a professional tool, and if there is something
I have learned especially from US companies then it is the fact that
business is nothing for softies ...

Have a nice day

Joey

-- 
Wenn man keine Ahnung hat: Einfach mal Fresse halten!
(If you have no clues: simply shut your knob sometimes!)
Dieter Nuhr, German comedian
openBC: http://www.openbc.com/go/invuid/Jo_Hasenau