I have some sympathy with this view, but I think it depends on the question. If it's something that is a bit obscure, but which one really ought to be able to figure out, then one should figure it out and keep quiet. But in the present case, this is a question that almost everyone is going to have to deal with in some form or other. In that case, the thread itself can become a very useful learning resource. I find I learn a lot from the dialectic between the different solutions - a dialectic which was very healthy in this thread. As well as presenting a lot of good information, it also presents it in a way that engages one's critical attention, so that one retains the knowledge far better than by reading the same stuff in a book.

So I think there's a place for this kind of thread. It does no harm to go over the basic stuff - often one can learn something unexpected from doing so. And for some of us it's not all that basic!

(For the avoidance of doubt I haven't voted anyone down on this thread - I thought it was all good stuff. A healthy dialectic, as I say.)

§ George Sherston

In reply to Re: Re: Is the file there? by George_Sherston
in thread Is the file there? by Ahbeyra

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