The Raymond Rule

“Only at grave peril shall you ask a question for which there already exists an answer somewhere in the world.” This principle drives me batty, and causes geeks to waste hours of time. It’s the macho-geek version of guys refusing to ask directions and driving till they are hopelessly lost.
Erik Raymond wrote the canonical explanation in How To Ask Questions. The geek world is run by wizards who don’t have time to answer newbie questions and keep the earth orbiting the sun.
Therefore, if you have a question, you must read the man pages, scour google for diagnostic phrases, spelunk through code, and test your hypothesis. If you still haven’t found the answer to your question after two hours, three hours, eight hours… then you may ask the wizard who may know the answer off the top of his head.
Otherwise, you risk scathing criticism, and a permanent deduction of 20 points from your interlocutor’s estimate of your IQ.
I’m really glad to see LinuxChix which looks like it provides a forum for improving one’s tech skills without facing the consequences of the Raymond Rule.

7 thoughts on “The Raymond Rule”

  1. Know when to ask…

    As I’ve tried to get my bearings with Linux (my first extended foray with Linux in over 5 years), I’ve run into countless situations where I was clueless not only to the fix to the problem, but to what exactly…

  2. Know when to ask…

    As I’ve tried to get my bearings with Linux (my first extended foray with Linux in over 5 years), I’ve run into countless situations where I was clueless not only to the fix to the problem, but to what exactly…

  3. Know when to ask…

    As I’ve tried to get my bearings with Linux (my first extended foray with Linux in over 5 years), I’ve run into countless situations where I was clueless not only to the fix to the problem, but to what exactly…

  4. Know when to ask…

    As I’ve tried to get my bearings with Linux (my first extended foray with Linux in over 5 years), I’ve run into countless situations where I was clueless not only to the fix to the problem, but to what exactly…

  5. Know when to ask…

    As I’ve tried to get my bearings with Linux (my first extended foray with Linux in over 5 years), I’ve run into countless situations where I was clueless not only to the fix to the problem, but to what exactly…

  6. Know when to ask…

    As I’ve tried to get my bearings with Linux (my first extended foray with Linux in over 5 years), I’ve run into countless situations where I was clueless not only to the fix to the problem, but to what exactly…

  7. Know when to ask…

    As I’ve tried to get my bearings with Linux (my first extended foray with Linux in over 5 years), I’ve run into countless situations where I was clueless not only to the fix to the problem, but to what exactly…

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