I have to admit - sometimes i just show the fact that i have nerves for all to see. When this happens i usually go off on some rant summing up a lot of frustrating encounters in one (more or less) coherent diatribe.

Consider the following thread: simple while loop

No, the subject of the thread doesn't matter. My suspicion that i did homework again doesn't matter either. What do people coming here asking for help *think* we are? Freaks? Like in

But use proper English, you're regarded as a freak
Oh why can't the English
Why can't the English
Learn to speak!

(My Fair Lady, Why can't the English...)

I am well aware that my English is far from being "proper". I can offer as an apology only that i strive. What really gives me the creeps is the unconcern - attitude is the key. Unix has (had?) unlike many other OSes, a strong cultural "binding". You just don't do some things which are possible and you do other things, even if they are hard and cumbersome.

One of these "do"s is you have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that you have at least tried. Have tried and have failed and you are just another colleague in need - have not even tried and you are a luser. This is what i was "raised" with. Is it just me or is this tradition rapidly breaking away? Has it ever been there or is this "culture" only the imagination of my brain anxious to keep fond memories of some "good old days" which, in the form they are remembered, never have been?

Maybe i'm just facing a break in this cultural tradition and my reaction is not so much indignation but in fact angst. Maybe I am just getting old and in a dither and do not keep up any more with my quickly changing environment.

To be honest i don't know. Still i like to ponder and sometimes i like to rant. Your thoughts are welcome.

bakunin

Although I am appalling at foreign languages the fact is that just like computer languages they are systems for aiding communication of ideas.

If you have a shocking command of spoken and written language you are likely to be unsuccessful at computer languages.

How can you exchange and comprehend complex ideas with vague and ambiguous scribblings?

Some more to add to the list

(a) people who wear baseball caps back to front.

(b) people who wear outsize baggy shorts that reach below their knees, presumably with the intent to look like a 6ft four year old with matching intellect.

(c) people who omit a belt and wear their waistline below their buttocks in an attempt to look a bit dangerous and hence couldn't outrun the police if they wanted to with their trousers round their ankles and tripping over their untied shoe laces, very cool.

The thread you linked is violating our rules:

(9) Edit your posts if you see spelling or grammar errors (don't write in cyberchat or cyberpunk style). English only.

My suggestion is to ignore questions posed by people who are ignoring our rules. This is especially true of folks who are not making a good faith attempt to communicate in English. When you answer a "question" which is expressed so poorly as we see in the linked thread, you should not be surprised to encounter a followup question like you got. Nor should you expect the questioner to take the time to try your code. Or to do anything else that requires a little bit of effort. It is very frustrating trying to help someone like that.

We get a lot of questions posed by people who spell "you" and "are" with a single letter. It would take a lot of effort to chase after each one, point out the rules, and request that they follow them. But doing nothing at all is a very easy punishment to mete out. So just ignore them. And if you try to help them anyway and then get a clueless followup question, just move on to the next thread. It is never to late too ignore a clueless thread.

And if you should happen to see a more serious rule violation, use the report feature to report the thread to a moderator.

From my perspective, the worst threads are the spam. A lot of people sign on to the site only to sell viagra, cell phones, knock-off purses, etc. We give them instant permanent bans and quarantine their threads.