[Python-Dev] Python-dev signal-to-noise processing question

[Ben Finney]

Steven D'Aprano <steve at pearwood.info> writes:

> We don't need to make excuses for why we don't give the answer here.
> It's enough to give the reason -- it's off-topic for this list, which
> is about the development of Python. That and a pointer to the right
> list is, in my opinion, all we need to say. We don't need to sugar
> coat it -- we're all adults here.

That's fine for people who already feel they are part of this particular
community. The concern, as I understand it from earlier in the thread,
is the regular only-one-opportunity-at-a-first-impression response given
to someone *new to* this community, who clearly doesn't yet know the
mores and expectations.

In that case, it's not enough to say “we're all adults”, because we're
also all human: the perceived tone of a first response we receive will
strongly influence our impression of the wider community, despite any
appeals one might make to the irrationality of that reaction. Asking
about how Python works is a likely first step to becoming a valuable
contributor later on (even if most such steps never go beyond the
first), and a poor impression will surely kill most of that potential.

So I do think it's worth this discussion about how to achieve the
conflicting goals already mentioned — efficient communication and
welcome to newcomers — and that “we don't need to sugar coat it” is
incorrect for this purpose.

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Ben Finney