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To: python-list@python.org
From: Terry Reedy <tjreedy@udel.edu>
Subject: Re: Most discussion on comp.lang.python is about developing with Python
Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 20:14:12 -0500
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On 11/13/2013 6:48 PM, Steven D'Aprano wrote:
> On Wed, 13 Nov 2013 15:35:56 -0500, bob gailer wrote:

>> Or would you be willing to stop the bashing? I don't see that it helps
>> anyone, and could be very offputting to other newbies.
>
> That's what I have been saying for a long time. I believe that whatever
> negative effect Nikos the help-vampire is having, it is long ago
> overwhelmed by the negative of the anti-Nikos vigilantes.

I agree and privately asked one such vigilante to desist.

> Fortunately, Nikos appears to pay absolutely no attention to any thread
> which isn't about him. So if you avoid threads started by him, you'll
> miss the worst of it.

Thunderbird now make this easy with R click, Ignore thread. I do this 
with non-Python threads and eventually with all that continue too long. 
So I have no idea how many Nikos threads are currently active other than 
the one I have not ignored yet. Sometimes ignorance *is* bliss ;-).

The last straw for me was a day when half the posts were for various 
Nikos threads. And perhaps 2/3rds of those were *not* from Nikos. To me, 
this is way unbalanced.

> As a community, it is difficult to balance the conflicting needs here. If
> we ignore Nikos completely, we appear unfriendly and indifferent to those
> asking for help.

I think at this point that off-topic posts should get one and only one 
answer:
"This question is not about Python. Please take it somewhere else."
If you see that already posted, move on.

> If we answer his questions, we encourage him to post. It
> is hard to find the right balance, if there even is a right balance, and
> people can have differing ideas of what that right balance is.

I think that Python questions, like "How do I complile 3.4a4 on Centos", 
that might interest others, should get answer or two or three for the 
benefit of everyone. And then answers should stop unless one has more 
information to give. No more 'I already answered that'. Sensible people 
can see that the question was answered, so repeating the obvious adds 
nothing.

> But it is clear from the last few months that abusive, aggressive posts
> don't help anyone -- they don't set a good tone for the group, they put
> off newcomers, and they do absolutely nothing to discourage Nikos. Please
> consider this a request to the community, ignore Nikos if you like,
> answer his questions if you must, but please keep the abusive posts off-
> list. They aren't helping.

I agree and second the request. Thanks for posting this.

-- 
Terry Jan Reedy