Groups
Like pretty much all of you, I’m a member of a number of Yahoo groups, and most…but not all…dealing with ham radio. I find them incredibly valuable at finding important information, comparing operating notes and avoiding the trial and error mistakes I made throughout my life while playing with my toys.
I also find them incredibly annoying.
Why? Because it seems in the lifespan of nearly all these groups, there comes a time when the senior members of the list have become tired of answering admittedly basic questions. You know, the same question that seems to surface every two weeks or so on any of these lists.
But in a world where all we have to do is IGNORE (oops, am I yelling?) the question, why do we get so upset and belligerent with the newcomer to the group who asks the same old question?
Yes, I know it’s been answered many times before.
And I know the answer already exists in a database on the site.
But is it REALLY such a horrible thing for a new addition to a group to ask a question?
I doubt I’ll ever really understand the issue Heck, I’m old enough to have thrown out thousands of pounds of junk mail over the years. And I’ve walked miles to the phone to answer a call from some telemarketer. At least on these group sites, I have the option of only reading those topics that interest me. And if the topic title is “Antenna Question 101”, I am under no obligation to read it.
Yet so many hams seem to delight in reading it only so it can upset them.
At this stage in my life, I find too many years are gone and too few remaining to bother getting too animated about it.
I’d rather be on 40 meters
I also find them incredibly annoying.
Why? Because it seems in the lifespan of nearly all these groups, there comes a time when the senior members of the list have become tired of answering admittedly basic questions. You know, the same question that seems to surface every two weeks or so on any of these lists.
But in a world where all we have to do is IGNORE (oops, am I yelling?) the question, why do we get so upset and belligerent with the newcomer to the group who asks the same old question?
Yes, I know it’s been answered many times before.
And I know the answer already exists in a database on the site.
But is it REALLY such a horrible thing for a new addition to a group to ask a question?
I doubt I’ll ever really understand the issue Heck, I’m old enough to have thrown out thousands of pounds of junk mail over the years. And I’ve walked miles to the phone to answer a call from some telemarketer. At least on these group sites, I have the option of only reading those topics that interest me. And if the topic title is “Antenna Question 101”, I am under no obligation to read it.
Yet so many hams seem to delight in reading it only so it can upset them.
At this stage in my life, I find too many years are gone and too few remaining to bother getting too animated about it.
I’d rather be on 40 meters
