Pkchukiss - Reality Wine

I like to join in discussions in online communities on the Internet; it offers a barrier-free arena for anybody who is interested in meeting new people the chance to gather around a common topic, and shoot their mouths off (or rather hands, for that matter). I can get the banter of a coffeeshop without going to a coffeeshop, plus I can afford to be more upfront with people than if I were to meet them face to face.

But there seems to be a prevalent culture in all the online communities, which I can’t really put my finger on, but is truly a real phenomenon: the intolerance for new comers, technically known as newbies, and insultingly called “noobs”. It seems to stem from the old computer help forums, where the technical experts got tired of new comers who seem to continuously ask the same questions over and over again. After these people got their answer, yet another newbie comes along, and asks the same question again. This led to the creation of FAQs, known as frequently asked questions, which is known famously to be visited only by the technical competent, whom were not the intended audience of these FAQs. To ease the tiresome job of posting the same reply over again, search engines were incorporated into the system, and newbies were directed to them whenever they ask a question that had been answered previously.

Of course, to their credit, these experienced users have done a lot to simplify the pain to themselves, yet still manage to help newbies find their answers, and it gets really tiresome to answer the same question to yet another person for the umpteenth time, especially when a simple search would have done the job. Therefore, I can’t really blame the long-timers for erupting when the 1001st person comes along and asks “where is the power button”. They deserve to vent. And the newbies had it coming for them.

You see, when any new user registers to join any online community, more often than not there is a huge sign that screams to be read, and it contains vital information on the dynamics and behaviour expected of the new member. This will contain strong advice to “read the FAQ” or to “do a search before posting in the forum”. But just as we know humans come to rely on the instant gratifications of being served “on-demand”, we too know that somebody will either neglect to read the advice, or ignore it completely. They are then shocked when the entire community seems to turn against them.

“B-b-but… I was only asking how to-” they whimper.

“Didin’t you read the instructions when you signed up? Read the [expletive] FAQ!”

“You guys are jerks!” the newbie concludes.

Imagine a migrant to your country, who decides not to learn about the culture and dynamics of the nation that has adopted him, starts to offend everyone without even knowing it. Just who is in the wrong?

Filed under: General