On Fri, 15 Jan 1993 07:38:00 EST Peter M. Weiss +1 814 863 1843 said:
 
>Questions  can  be asked  of  people/lists,  or of  computer  databases.
>Listserv provides facilities for retrieving such.
 
Yes, but one can only ask questions if one knows that there are questions
to be  asked. I think  I can speak  for most novices  when I say  that we
don't know what questions  to ask and even if we do know  what to ask, we
frequently lack the appropriate vocabulary. To me, computers are a second
language and I am still learning the idiom.
 
>Rule 1 for List Owners: see if  the question (and answer) has been asked
>       before by searching / reading  the notebook or FTP (if available)
>       archives.
 
I am sure  that this is fine advice -  but how do you do it?  This is the
kind of instruction that frustrates a new user! (For example, why would a
new Listowner necessarily know what FTP means, let alone how to do it?)
 
>If you have never read the  file LISTFAQ MEMO (available from a listserv
>near you -- 128 lines), this is a must.
 
Yes, but if  this exists, how does  a new Listowner know  that it exists?
And how does that novice listowner learn how to get the file (?) referred
to here?
 
>       Do     an    INDEX     LDBASE-L     to    the     listserv@ukanvm
>       (@ukanvm.cc.ukans.edu)
 
This  is the  kind  of helpful  hint  that drives  me  crazy and  totally
intimidates  me! I  recognize the  words as  English, but  when they  are
strung together in  this way, I just don't  understand a word...including
the "do a..." part. How?
 
>Rule 2: find out where other FAQs  are stored for various topics. A good
>       place to start is ~ftp pit-manager.mit.edu cd pub/usenet
 
With respect,  this instruction is  designed to render the  poor ignorant
new user/listowner into  a quivering jelly of fear  and frustration! What
does it all mean?
 
I appreciate Peter  Weiss' attempts to elucidate things, but  the fact is
that it ends  up being an example  of what so many new  users encounter -
more confusion. The vocabulary used  by computer people is often obscure;
moreover, it frequently sounds the  same as "normal" vocabulary, but with
a different meaning. An example of  this is the computer-related usage of
the word "digest". Eventhe word "do" takes on new meanings!
 
I am  sure that it  is very hard for  knowledgeable people to  talk about
computer related matters in a simple  way ...but is it really impossible?
And if it is that impossible, what hope is there for the future, with new
users (who  seem tobe getting less  and less local support)  entering the
fray every day? In this I speak not only of LISTSERV, but of all pc, LAN,
and network activities.
 
Even LSTOWN-L is extremely hard  to understand very often, partly because
many of  the posts presuppose a  level of knowledge that  a new listowner
might not have, and I certainly don't have.
 
How a about a JUNIOR branch of LSTOWN-L for us? Just kidding........NOT!
 
Peace, Anthea Tillyer ABTHC@CUNYVM City University of New York