[plug] Commercial Help in LUGs

[Peter J. Nicol]

>  I agree with Jon here, there is so much more you can learn from people that
>  are doing real work with Linux than people tinkering (however seriously) at
>  home, and that its quite acceptable to ask for help on commercial issues.

I kinda agree, and kinda disagree.  If people were forbidden from, or flamed for,
posting 'commercial' questions to the list, then it would rapidly cease to be
interesting and useful.  Indeed, one of the selling points on Linux et al is it's
'community support'.

However, I do get a little peeved when I see what I consider 'lazy' attitudes to
the list, like people using it as a first port of call, instead of doing a google
search or reading the manual.

I kind of like the approach on the OpenBSD lists that I used to be on.  If you
asked a stupid question or one that had an answer in an obvious place (like the
manual) then you got flamed harshly.  Really harshly.  I am fine with this, but
obsd tends to be a 'serious' os, not really played with by hobbiests.

Linux is a friendlier community, but I don't think that we should tolerate being
used by lazy people and exploited.  Beyond a certain point, if you are getting
paid (often $100 or more an hour), and more often than not have to consult with
unpaid hobbiests to do your job, then you need to take a long hard look at
yourself.  Especially if you don't contribute much back.

However, it is up to each individual on the list how they react to lazy or stupid
questions, and how far they want to help someone.  I am uncomfortable with some
attitudes on the list, and wouldn't use the list in the way some do, but, it is
impossible to criticize someone for helping someone else.

I have had commercial type questions as well as hobbiest questions answered on the
list, and I think I have probably helped others in both situations on the odd
occasion.  I think the community is pretty well self-regulating and tolerant of a
wide range of views and personalities.