Before I make an ass out of myself. I was a newbie and I don't remember if I posted any stupid questions or not to the list. I probably did! To everyone who has put up with me, helped me, slapped me, sent me problems with my code submissions, I wish to thank each and every one of you! Now on with making a jackass of myself :) Under the discussion of newbies, I more or less have had my share of questions posted to me directly. Most newbies probably think I am one of the (what term should I use here? elite/good/top/etc) coders just because I toss togather a bunch of patches into stock. My intentions were to give back to the circlemud community in a way that makes me feel good. I am not an elite/good/top coder by a long shot. There are area's of the code I have never even looked at yet, let alone a lot of concepts that I still don't understand. Even when I work with parts of it I don't understand, I mess with it till I get it working the way I want it to. Some of the newbie questions sent to me directly have been on the lazy coder side. I don't mind trying to help (if I can) but I as most coders, I work, have a family, and work on the bundle, and help someone with thier mud. I really love working with the code and learning as I go along. Working with some of the newbies has also taught me things about the code. I think the circlemud home page (www.circlemud.org) should be revamped to provide more information on where to find answers, faq's, archives, etc. The developer.circlemud.org site is less known by newbies, let alone them knowing that there are faq's on it. As for bundles, I have either helped make them or made them myself for several years now. Again, it is my way of helping out. I think they are a good thing. Reason #1, There are less questions to the list about problems with the patches, let alone mistakes they make putting them in. Reason #2, (as stated by someone else) There are patches that are too old for the current release of circle. Newbies would have a very difficult time understanding some of the major changes. (then we have more questions for #1) Reason #3, The concept of "I had to do it the hard way, so you should too" is by far the most stupid idea around. The demand for a code base with OLC is high. (Who wants a base without olc?) So why should everyone have to install something that is common? (Then we fall back to reason #2, and then to #1) Reason #4, Someone stated something similar to the idea that bundles are not as robust as a stock mud, as in getting it running right out of the box. This is kind of a good thing for newbies. For one, they have to do a few thing to find out why it won't run. Read the documents! Ask the list and get the basic information they missed in the first place, such as where the FAQ is, or the archives. More reasons, but I think I have made my point. All in all, there are more newbie questions to the list by the impatient (I think I would rather refer to em as impatient than lazy) ones. Newbies that probably have been playing on a mud for a few weeks-few months and realized "I CAN GET THE CODE??? AND MAKE MY OWN MUD???" Then download it and go "UHHH what do I do now?" :) Lets ask someone.. who do I know? Ask the IMP on the mud they play on, and get a respons "Are you NUTS?" Who to ask next? I don't know anyone, lets read a little. OHH there is a mailing list!! Lets get on there and ask, "What do I do with this .tar.gz file?" (hehehe) Yea ok, a little overboard but I was havin fun! BYON! As Darwin said, Newbie Roast at 8pm his house! -- +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | FAQ: http://qsilver.queensu.ca/~fletchra/Circle/list-faq.html | | Archives: http://post.queensu.ca/listserv/wwwarch/circle.html | +---------------------------------------------------------------+
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