On 2004-03-25, timg penned: >> > i know exactly what she means and dont think it is a male/female > thing. i'm a programmer, partly responsible for our main servers and > development servers in house, happy to repair/build computers but > still find that I do have a certain amount of trepidation when posting > technical difficulties. I dont know why tho. probably looking an ass > in public when you discover the answer was right under your nose (and > fifty people point it out) is the main concern. I dont particularly > like standing up in front of hundreds of people and asking questions > either, I dont think this is really that different. Aside form that > does anyone know how disable the mousepad when typing?
I know what you mean, which is why I try to take my time in composing a question. At least half the time, while typing out my post, it occurs to me that "someone's going to ask me if I've done X" -- so I do X, and voila, there's my answer! Composing posts to d-u and other technical forums has on occasion been more enlightening to me than actually posting =) I think part of this whole issue is learning how to build onesself up in online communities. Once you're solidly part of a community, it is much easier to gloss over occasional blunders. Granted, if you suddenly post only blather after having enjoyed a solid reputation for a few years, after a while people will start to associate you with blather ... I definitely have a strategy for approaching new online forums. My first post tends to be a question, but I work very hard at making sure that all my i's are dotted and my t's are crossed. After that, I try to prove my worth to the community by contributing where I can, without trying to sound like a representative of the community -- people tend to get cranky when they think you're presenting yourself as a member of a group and they don't think you qualify. It's also important to never be off-topic in the "initiation" phase, as certain grumps will see it as their job to put you in your place. That part -- balancing utility with humility and topicality-- is tricky, and I actually think I biffed this one on d-u a bit, at least at first. If things go well, after a while, you begin to be accepted as a community member, and you start to get more slack when you ask a dumb question or post something off-topic. It's worked for me in a number of online hangouts, including the EQ guild Afterlife, where I was Recruiter for over a year. It hasn't worked in some -- notably alt.mountain-bike, where there are some seriously grumpy gusses. But I guess in their eyes, I'm the equivalent of someone continuously asking about their printer icons and never getting a clue. -- monique -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
