Re: What's happening at OSU FAQ archives?

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David A. Roth (david@roth-music.com)
Thu, 20 Jun 96 13:20:07 EST

In Regards to your letter <v01540b01adeef859ffaa@[206.138.210.13]>:
>
> >In Regards to your letter <9606192050.AA14694@gonix.gonix.com>:
> >>
>
> >I think it is time I stand and be counted as an unhappy "customer" as
> >well. OSU is a local phone call for me and after not being able to
> >find what I was looking for, while trying to write my first FAQ several
> >months ago, I decided to call Tom Fine at OSU because e-mail didn't
> >work. It was quite an effort to reach him by phone and he didn't seem
> >interested in what I was doing, nor did he gave me any pointers to
> >anything useful. Knowing what I know now, all I needed was to know
> >about was the faq-checker. This bit of nonsense delayed me quite a bit
> >and if it were not for Pam Greene's kind help, I would still be lost as
> >to what to do.
>
> I'm not surprised at the reaction you got. You are NOT a customer of Tom
> Fine or the OSU FAQ archive. Or did I miss the part where you paid him for
> a service? Mr. Fine has no responsibility to speak to you or help you. Your
> phone call was unsolicited, unexpected, and rude. I've gone to great

It was anything but rude. I was kind as I always am and handled him
with "kit" gloves. I pay taxes in Ohio. OSU is a state supported
school, but that's not the point. We are all part of a community.

> efforts to hide my phone numbers from unthinking individuals who have
> somehow gotten the idea in their heads that because I post a FAQ list or
> two, I am their personal source of unpaid support. WRONG.
>
> I am constantly bombarded by email from people who, despite having no
> direct realtionship to me, financial or otherwise, insist that I owe them
> something. I suspect most other people on the list, especially those who've
> been around for a while, have had the same experience. The response one
> takes to this varies according to one's personality. Some people respond to
> personal requests for assistance. Others (like myself and apparently like
> Mr. Fine) generally let them slip off into the bit bucket unanswered.
> Others send the requesters a rate sheet. Regardless of the response to
> these queries, the point of writing a FAQ list is to reduce the amount of
> such detritus you need to deal with, not to expand it. While FAQ lists and
> FAQ archives may reduce the overall level of traffic on Usenet and other
> forums, they regrettably seem to increase the level of traffic in our own
> lives. No good deed goes unpunished.

The USENET community wasn't built on apathy and a "what's in it for me"
attitude. If everyone involved with it acted this way UUCP and
Internet wouldn't exist as we now enjoy it and I have come to know for
well over 15 years. I don't recall Mark Horton at AT&T Bell Labs ever
kicking me out of his office, nor does my e-mail to him go unanswered.
If you don't want to contribute to the USENET society, then let someone
else write the FAQs and don't put yourself in a position where others
will expect help from you, by offering to take care of something. If
you do decide to do that, and I hope you don't, have the courtesy to at
the very least put up an "out of order" sign not to leave folks
hanging. In any event, I appreciate you taking the time to post.

David A. Roth
david@roth-music.com

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