[Cbsupport] Who is #computerbank IRC for?

[Jan Smith]

Hi Peter,

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Peter Eckersley
> I sent that email.  I'm not currently active with Computerbank, although I
> have been in the past, and I was attempting to help Avery.
> He/she was asking
> lots of questions (good), some of which require quite long and
> tricky answers.

If yours was the email that upset Avery then that's a shame.  I saw your
email and didn't think it too intimidating. You gave an expedient answer but
perhaps not a very friendly one.

> So, it's not that computerbank can't provide a certain level of
> support (I'm
> not currently invovled, so I don't know) but that mailing lists
> are probably
> not the right place to get answers to those particular questions.  Someone
> currently active in computerbank should feel free to correct me.

I don't know the answer to that either.

As you no doubt know, people often go through computer rage (similar to road
rage) when first learning a system.  They are keen but frustrated and have
little patience.  They have a whole lot of questions and can't work out
which ones are the really relevant ones, so they fire off a whole lot in
desperation.  They are angry with themselves and the system - these people
need kid glove handling in the early stages.  From my experience teaching
people technology, the people who complain the loudest often are the best
students once they calm down.  They often then turn round and teach others
the steps they just conquered.

It would be nice to have a friendlier #computerbank IRC.

OTT I saw your message about creative procrastination and had to smile I put
a new background picture on my desktop today.

Jan



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Peter Eckersley

>
> I sent that email.  I'm not currently active with Computerbank, although I
> have been in the past, and I was attempting to help Avery.
> He/she was asking
> lots of questions (good), some of which require quite long and
> tricky answers.
> Realistically, I'm not sure if the subscribers to the computerbank support
> list will have time to compose email responses to all of them.  I
> also pointed
> out a book which is available online, which answers some of them,
> and should
> provide some of the groundwork for answering others.  Perhaps the
> book will be
> too technical, but I hope not.
>
> So, it's not that computerbank can't provide a certain level of
> support (I'm
> not currently invovled, so I don't know) but that mailing lists
> are probably
> not the right place to get answers to those particular questions.  Someone
> currently active in computerbank should feel free to correct me.
>
> --
> Peter Eckersley
> Department of Computer Science   &
> mailto:pde at cs.mu.oz.au
> IP Research Institute of Australia             http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~pde
> The University of Melbourne
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