[ANSTHRLD] Answering questions

[Jacquie Ziegler]

Greetings!

> An open query to the list:

I will answer openly, as you asked it.

> Recently, I responded to a posting on an heraldic mailing list I
> subscribe to (this narrows it down not at all - I subscribe to every
> SCA heraldic mailing list I know of) with pointers to the locations
> in the AH/RfS/Laurel Precedents/Laurel Education articles/mundane sources
> where the poster might find the answers I gave, and pretty much said,
> "in future, you may look here for answers".

Which is*exactly* what I try to do, publicly or privately, and I am
_so_ glad that you, among others, do so also. Teaching is our
backbone, IMO (nothing humble about this opinion, being a History
Professor's daughter!).

> I got pulled into private email and ripped for it.  I was told that I
> made the person asking the question look too stupid to have checked other
> sources first (the poster had not said anything about having looked
anywhere)
> and that I made the poster look like a pest.  The private email accused
me
> of toning my message in a "don't bother asking in the future" manner.

Nonsense!

> I'm wondering if I come across wrong when I address questions as though
the
> poster is looking for not only the specific answer, but perhaps trying to
> learn something.  Should we who reply to questions keep our answers to
> "yes" and "no" rather than actually trying to educate?  Should we
discount
> the number of people lurking-to-learn who gain useful information with
> references to available sources which will not only answer the question
at
> hand, but allow people to find answers in the future?

I, personally, love the way you phrase your answers, and I try to model
my replies in much the same way - especially when they are answering the
'I want to learn how to ___ ' type of query, not just a yes/no type of
thing.

> If I sound hurt, I am.  I thought folks were on these lists to learn, not
> just to have other people do their work for them.
> - Teceangl

I am on all the lists you can think of, also, and I am on them to learn,
more
than anything. There is so much out there I don't know enough about, and
the only way to learn is to ask!

Mistress Shauna of Carrick Point
Golden Wing Principal Herald for the Kingdom of Artemisia