At the risk of bending a forum...
This.
Thanks GGJstudios. You've helped me out in the past. I hope I remembered to thank you.
snberk103, I appreciate your thanks and the comments by
jsoto. However, I never expect anyone to say "thank you" for help I offer. My issue is not with you, but with those who bite my head off when I try to help them, either because they don't like the fact that I post a link rather than re-typing answers or because I don't spoon-feed them only what they want to hear.
Some take offense that I don't answer every question with a hand-typed paragraph or two, composed especially for that poster. For one, my carpal tunnel syndrome is bad enough, having been plunking on computer keyboards for almost 40 years. But there is a much more significant reason why I answer posts the way I do:
This forum, and the internet in general, is replete with misinformation and false statements. Anyone these days can have a blog or website where they can say whatever they want, factual or not. When it comes to finding technical answers, I prefer to read from reliable, reputable sources.
Since very few of us in this forum really know each other, I don't automatically consider a forum post to be a reputable source, unless I've read enough from a poster to know that they are knowledgeable and experienced. While there are always exceptions, I generally tend to find that forum members who have been around for a while and have a higher number of posts are more trustworthy sources than someone who just joined in the past few months or have only a few dozen posts. It's true that some of us join this forum with a lot of knowledge and experience with computers, but there's no way for anyone to know that until it's proven by a pattern of accuracy in posting.
That's why I frequently prefer to post links to Apple's site or other known resources that have a higher probability of being accurate, rather than have forum members take my word for something. It not only answers the question, but it also provides a source for finding answers to future questions. I'd much rather have someone tell me about the Apple support site that I can search myself for answers, rather than leave me dependent solely on posting and hoping that the answers in the forum I get are accurate.
Finally, I don't want a poster to think that my opinion or solution is the only one that matters, because it isn't, so frequently I will respond to a question with links to other threads on the topic, so the reader can see opinions or solutions offered by many members, not just me. Some take offense to that, as well. I've learned that no matter what you do, you're not going to please all the people, all the time.
The bottom line is this: if anyone asks for help and I respond, either use what I offer or ignore it. Either is fine. Just don't criticize me because my method of answering doesn't meet your specific qualifications for a "warm and fuzzy" response.
