Linda's Soapbox: People Who Think the World Owes Them Everything
by Linda Johnson
This article reprinted with permission from All 'Bout
Computers.
OK, this is a REALLY good one.
Sometimes I wonder why I even try.
A couple weeks ago, I was up to my
neck in work. The college where I teach was being inspected by the
accreditation board so we were all inundated with paper work that had to
be done immediately, if not sooner. Also, it was midterm week and
I had to submit reports on all students who were having problems and
meet with those students to discuss said problems. AND, remember I
do take care of my mom and there was some stuff going on that I had to
deal with. Not to mention the fact that I was totally rebuilding
my entire website (read more about that here).
So, in the midst of all this, I am
getting tons of emails asking for personal free help with problems
people are having. Now, if any of you have ever submitted a
problem to me, you know most of the time I do try to help.
See my
testimonials page if you don't believe this. Well, this
particular week, I got an email from a man telling me (not asking me) to help him with his large Word document which was not printing correctly.
Now, anyone who knows anything about printing problems knows these can
be a bugger to solve ... especially if the person is using a printer
that you don't have installed. This type of problem is not one
that is solved simply and quickly! And, Vic Ferri has a great printer
troubleshooting page at my site which is easily found by using
my search box. So, when I'm flat-out busy like this, I send people
an email telling them I don't always have the time to answer EVERY plea
for free help that I get and then I proceed to give them a list of
alternative ways to get their question answered for FREE ... this
list first tells them how to search my site to be sure the answer isn't
there ... it also includes a link to subscribe to ABC for FREE so
you can "Ask the Fleet"...it also includes links to many email groups,
including my own, which all offer FREE help.
So ... how does this "gentleman"
reply to me?
"Thanks for ALL the help. U
solved nothing. Some people just care about money. I hope you get what
you deserve."
Where does this guy come off? Where does he get
the idea that HE is the most important thing in my life? Does he
think I have nothing better to do than cater to his every whim for FREE?
Does he think I'm a millionaire and have no need to earn a living?
If I didn't have any Internet ethics, I would post his email address
here for all the world to see.
So ... for any of you who ever write to site owners
asking for some kind of free help, here are some pointers:
1. Don't demand the help. ASK for it ...
and remember to say something nice in your email. If
nothing else, simply tell them you like their site.
2. Understand that free help is given on a voluntary
basis, when people have the time to do it. Many site owners won't
even reply to requests for free help, so if you get any reply at
all, thank them for taking the time to reply, even if they couldn't help
you at that time.
3. Do your homework BEFORE you ask for help. At
least search the entire site before you send a question that is already
answered there. Don't go to a site and spend two minutes there
looking for an email link. SEARCH THE SITE. And let them know what
you've tried and where you've looked.
4. Remember that support sites like mine are already
giving you a lot for FREE ... don't expect more ... appreciate what you
already get!
5. And if, by some chance, you actually DO find
the answer to your problem at their site, THANK THEM. It's the
least you can do ... and usually the only *payment* they expect.
Oh ... and on a similar note ... if you do join an email
support group, newsgroup, or forum, don't write to members of the group
privately unless they invite you to. People join these groups to
volunteer their help when they have time. The benefit of these
groups is everyone gets to see the answers, so someone doesn't have to
answer the same question a gazillion times. Writing to busy people
privately may result in a nasty reply, or no reply at all. And, it does
the other members of the group a disservice. They deserve to see
the answers to all questions ... that's why it's called a "group".
Does it sound like I need a vacation? I guess I
do! LOL
