Time for : comp.lang.python.newbies ??

[gmduncan]

Am I correct in detecting a greater presence of Newbies in
this "Pierian Spring" aka c.l.p. ??

Seems there's more than the usual bunch of pleas for help
esp. from the Newbie Windoze fraternity.

And it seems the Uber-Gurus (You Know Who You ARE) have retreated
a bit - most are in the NH so it can't be that they are holidaying
in the Bahamas, Greece, and Corfu and the like, in their winter
"of discontent" no doubt.

Maybe a time for a new discussion group along that suggested
by the Subject line ?

I've got nothing against Newbies - I was one once - but there
is a limit.

Or is their increasing presence here a price we must pay for their
belated recognition of this wonderful language ?

- Gary ( GURU-aspirant

 

[Doug Holton]

Maybe a time for a new discussion group along that suggested
by the Subject line ?
http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor

Or is their increasing presence here a price we must pay for their
belated recognition of this wonderful language ?

Don't forget the price we pay for not having a
comp.lang.python.cynicaloldfarts

 

[Tim Roberts]

Am I correct in detecting a greater presence of Newbies in
this "Pierian Spring" aka c.l.p. ??

Seems there's more than the usual bunch of pleas for help
esp. from the Newbie Windoze fraternity.

And it seems the Uber-Gurus (You Know Who You ARE) have retreated
a bit - most are in the NH so it can't be that they are holidaying
in the Bahamas, Greece, and Corfu and the like, in their winter
"of discontent" no doubt.

Maybe a time for a new discussion group along that suggested
by the Subject line ?

Unfortunately, what you propose is doomed to failure. This has been shown
many times before in Usenet.

Let's say you're a newbie, and you have a question. You are presented with
two newsgroups:
comp.lang.python.newbies
comp.lang.python.experts
Where do you think you will be getting the most productive answers to your
questions? If there are no experts in the newbie group, there aren't going
to be very many useful answers there.

I've got nothing against Newbies - I was one once - but there
is a limit.

No, there isn't, really. I don't think the percentage of true newbie
questions has really gone up. However, as you grow more knowledgeable, the
percentage of questions that SEEM like newbie questions goes up.

comp.lang.python has always been a bastion of kindness and tolerance in the
comp.lang hierarchy. I hope that remains true.

 

[James Stroud]

Maybe a time for a new discussion group along that suggested
by the Subject line ?

I would hesitate to change too much about this list. I spend about 1 hr. per
day (probably too much) perusing the technical explanations, musings, and
rants--and hoping to learn enough to reply with an answer sometimes.

As far as lists go, this is my favorite, and I've subscribed to lists in a
variety of fields. I'm afraid that scaring off newbies would remove some of
the charm of this list.


--
James Stroud, Ph.D.
UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics
611 Charles E. Young Dr. S.
MBI 205, UCLA 951570
Los Angeles CA 90095-1570
http://www.jamesstroud.com/

 

[Steven Bethard]

As far as lists go, this is my favorite, and I've subscribed to lists in a
variety of fields. I'm afraid that scaring off newbies would remove some of
the charm of this list.

Amen. =) And anyway, with a good newsreader, you can just ignore any
threads that are too "newbie" for you. I tend to do this a fair bit
with the threads started by folks who haven't read the "smart questions"
essay yet.

Steve