From Ted.Harding at manchester.ac.uk  Mon Aug 23 04:22:04 2010
From: Ted.Harding at manchester.ac.uk ( (Ted Harding))
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:22:04 +0100 (BST)
Subject: [Rd] No RTFM?
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTi=9dHsBNALmGpyVi0mHYpDL_fH4yObJX0A2LGzL@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <XFMail.100823032204.Ted.Harding@manchester.ac.uk>

On 22-Aug-10 23:29:39, Paul Johnson wrote:
> Dude:
> What's so objectionable about filling in the output of
>>systemInfo()
> ??
> What particular piece is too onerous to ask of people who
> are asking questions?
> -- 
> Paul E. Johnson
> Professor, Political Science
> 1541 Lilac Lane, Room 504
> University of Kansas

(with Cc: to r-devel)
    I presume you mean "sessionInfo()". "systemInfo()" hasn't been
    mentioned so far, I think.

[1] It may or may not be relevant to the query. If it's relevant,
    then it's fine. If not. it's a waste of space. The current
    Posting Guide already advises it under "Surprising behavior
    and bugs:", where such advice is appropriate.
    It is not appropriate for (e.g.) a query asking for advice about
    packages for multiple imputation.

[2] I am not objecting to it as such. I am questioning your proposal
    that
      1. Every question to r-help should begin with the following.
      A. Output from the command sessionInfo()
      B. Output from Sys.getlocale()
      [etc.]
    Not *every* question, as I've said before. It depends on the case.

[3] I have tried to argue for a moderate and flexible spirit in
    what is advised in the Posting Guide. I am very uncomfortable
    about proposals as prescriptive and rigid as yours seem to be.
    Users, especially beginners, are likely to be discouraged from
    posting to R-help if faced with stringent (and possibly not
    relevant) requirements on how they should post. If faced with
    responses which chastise them for not "following the rules"
    they may well be put off using R altogether.

    As I have said before, I see the function of R-help as helping,
    in as cooperative a way as possible. The function of the Posting
    Guide should likewise be to help them to write good questions,
    with advice on what mey be necessary, what useful, what not useful.

    The current Posting Guide is already quite reasonable in these
    respects, and perhaps would benefit most from being made being
    somewhat re-formatted, without essential change.

Ted.

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Date: 23-Aug-10                                       Time: 03:22:01
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[Rd] No RTFM?
 (Ted Harding