Re: best practices

[Graham Percival]

On Sun, Sep 19, 2010 at 09:36:21PM +0200, David Kastrup wrote:
> "Phil Holmes" <address@hidden> writes:
> 
> > I'm generally normally quite helpful (or try to be).  It was just that
> > Graham had given you all the information you needed - you just needed
> > to read it and spend a little while wondering what LM could stand for.
> 
> It is agreed-upon best practice _not_ to use those abbreviations on the
> general user list.

Yes.

However, I must clarify that the email in which I said "They're LM
5 Working on LilyPond projects" was written in June 2008.  Over
TWO YEARS ago!
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-user/2008-06/msg00588.html

This was:
- before that material was moved into Usage in 2.13
- before 2.13 even existed -- this was during the 2.11 period!
- before we agreed not to use LM abbreviations.

> Because it is disingenuous to play guessing games with unsuspecting
> beginning users.

Agreed.  This was part of the motivation for the redesigned
website.  Users now see "Learning" in a number of places,
including the navigation bars.

> but then
> everybody and his dog jumps in barking at the newcomer who did not
> understand Graham's absolutely cryptic remark (imagine not being into
> lilypond-devel slang and try reading any sense into it), giving him the
> full "unpaid volunteers, scurvy dog" treatment.

- user replies to a 26-month-old email
- Phil Holmes clarifies it:
  "Um.  Learning Manual 5.  Entitled "Working on LilyPond
projects".
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-user/2010-09/msg00471.html
- user says "I don't appreciate the condescending response.  This
  is my first experience feeling UNwelcome as a LilyPond newbie."
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-user/2010-09/msg00473.html
- I get pissed off because Phil was being completely helpful, and
  I'm supposed to be the newbie-bashing guy.

Was my reaction overblown?  Perhaps.  But was Phil's "Um." really
all that condescending?  Does three letters (well, two letters and
a punctuation) really imply a "UNwelcome" feeling?

Get real.

- Graham