[Spambayes] can't get spam bayes to work

[Tony Meyer]

> "you didn't say you installed it" is an example.  That's offensive
> and goes along with "you didn't say whether you had your computer
> turned on or not."  

I spent some time in my youth <wink> working as a helpdesk technician for an
ISP, in the days when the Internet was just gaining in popularity and so a
great number of people with little computer experience were trying to get
online.  Checking things like that the computer is turned on is not at all a
foolish thing to do, especially when the person you're talking with has
indicated that simple instructions are necessary.

A common point at which OE users have trouble with SpamBayes is in the
"change your mail client to connect to localhost" step.  (Finishing the
installation, essentially).  I would say that this is the most common
request for help from OE users.  Since you didn't say that you had done any
of those steps, it was a reasonable assumption to make that you hadn't, and
were having trouble in the same place as others.

> So far everyone has told me how stupid I am.

Actually, unless it was in private mail, no-one has done that.  People have
tried to explain where the misunderstanding has come from, but no-one has
made any comments about your intelligence.

> Since I do quite a bit of technical writing, I would be pleased to
> assist this outfit in translating the techno-jargon into plain,
> everyday English that even we stupid people can comprehend.

That would be greatly appreciated.  You can send any modified documentation
to the list, or submit it via the sourceforge system at
<http://sf.net/projects/spambayes>. (Sourceforge is somewhat complicated, so
sending to the list would probably be a better idea).  We are, of course,
happy to help with the writing if necessary (explaining parts that are
unclear, etc).

=Tony.Meyer

-- 
Please always include the list (spambayes at python.org) in your replies
(reply-all), and please don't send me personal mail about SpamBayes.
http://www.massey.ac.nz/~tameyer/writing/reply_all.html explains this.