attempting to find an answer and instead ...

users
#1

... merely receive this :frowning:

       I don't believe I deserve to be ignored ... nor to be abused -
           therefore I think this list should be made aware of this
person's behaviour -
       because if he's treating me in this manner, I'm sure others have
received and/or will be receiving this same treatment?

       BTW - just what is a ping???

I'm sorry but this is completely inappropriate. An email directly to me

#2

       ... merely receive this :frowning:

       I don't believe I deserve to be ignored ... nor to be abused -
           therefore I think this list should be made aware of this
person's behaviour -
       because if he's treating me in this manner, I'm sure others have
received and/or will be receiving this same treatment?

       BTW - just what is a ping???

Again not appropriate and you'll find a hard time getting involved with ANY
open source project if you make clearly private messages public. I
apologize that you are struggling so much with getting a wiki account BUT
there are "generally accepted ways" of going about communicating and one of
those is not making private conversations public. Since you went ahead and
did so I'll keep it public so that you aren't spamming users with my
personal replies.

A ping is just a quick email (or IRC message, etc...) that says "hey, any
updates", some users even just say "ping" in IRC basically saying "hey, you
around?"

I hope you find the assistance you need from another user and or volunteer.

Regards,
Joel

#3

Joel Madero wrote:
<snip>

A ping is just a quick email (or IRC message, etc...) that says "hey, any
updates", some users even just say "ping" in IRC basically saying "hey, you
around?"

<snip>
Joel,
"ping", another overloaded word:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping

But those of us in the computer networking field assume:

    Ping, a computer network tool used to test whether a particular host
    is reachable across an IP network

Colloquially, it is used as you define it - to send a quick message to someone to see what's going on in their life. As in
"I haven't heard from him for a while - I'm going to ping him to see what he's up to."
Girvin Herr

#4

Thanks for this explanation.

       Just thinking ... before the 'phone, folks would ring the doorbell
...
                                 after the 'phone, folks would ring the
'phone ...
                                    so I guess ping is the cross between
ring and pc -
       interesting that's it's ping rather than p-ring p-ring p-ring ...

#5

      Thanks for this explanation.

      Just thinking ... before the 'phone, folks would ring the doorbell
...
                                after the 'phone, folks would ring the
'phone ...
                                   so I guess ping is the cross between
ring and pc -
      interesting that's it's ping rather than p-ring p-ring p-ring ...

quotation from "List of computer term etymologies" <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_computer_term_etymologies>

'The author of ping, Mike Muuss, named it after the pulses of sound made by a sonar called a "ping". Later Dave Mills provided the backronym "Packet Internet Groper".'

probably better to look things up than speculate.

although not sure how reliable wikipedia is. I recall WWII movies where the crew of submarines suffered silently through 'pings' from enemy warships on the surface trying to locate them.

F.

#6

Hi :slight_smile:
Speculation can provide a lot of amusement.  I like Anne-ology's explanation.  The real answer is quite good too.  So, where did "boot-up" come from?  Wasn't that soem engineering term to do with subs too?
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#7

Hi :slight_smile:
Speculation can provide a lot of amusement. I like Anne-ology's explanation. The real answer is quite good too. So, where did "boot-up" come from? Wasn't that soem engineering term to do with subs too?
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

I think it comes from "pulling one's self by your boot straps" and
comparing that to starting up a power off computer.

#8

Tom wrote:

So, where did "boot-up" come from?

“Boot” (restart) a computer was originally “bootstrap,” from “pull
(oneself) up by the bootstraps,” i.e. to start by oneself. The “up” is a
gratuitous addition.

Now back to work, everyone.

#9

Hi :slight_smile:
Errr, there doesn't seem to be a question to answer in this thread. I
suppose "acceptable etiquette" just about covers it. the main points are
1. Try to keep questions on-list.
  If you go off-list then people may well not respond and there are many
reasons why not which have nothing to do with rudeness. When you go
off-list people may feel obliged to answer but they may not be able to so
you increase their stress level.
  It's a bit like going round to someone's house uninvited and just walking
in through their back-door after getting the key from under their door-mat.
It is spam and there are laws against it.
  If the post is on-list then if one person is too busy or unable to help
then there are other people and hopefully one of them can answer.

2. If you had a chat over coffee with a close friend would you tape-record
it and then find a radio station to broadcast it? I think if you
tape-record a conversation then you are legally obliged to ask the person if
it's ok before you do so. Currently in England there is a big court-case
about "phone hacking". Similarly if you take private emails and then
publish them publicly then it's just plain rude. Of course any email you
write could easily end up going public so it's wise to take care to avoid
saying anything "naughty" that could get you in trouble.

Summary.
Personally i think Anne didn't quite realise the implications of what she
was doing. The Users List is a pretty friendly place so it's easy to make
some wrong assumptions. Even people that seem to hate each other have
common interests and similar values.

However, i can totally understand why the other person was getting annoyed.
His private emails, written at a highly stressful time, will now be publicly
available for anyone in the world to read at any time. Luckily everything
that was in his publicly printed private emails just show him as a
reasonable and fair person doing his best to help. In trying to help he put
his own future career at risk by not focusing on revision for exams.

So, i don't think anyone behaved really badly deliberately but a bit more
consideration of others would be nice. Also ignore the lists and get on
with your own life when you need to! It's not really selfish to just ignore
your emails for a few weeks or to selectively answer just the ones you want.
If there is a cry for help and you don't answer they can copy&paste it to
someone else. If you cry for help, especially in a personal email, then you
have to accept that the other person may not be able to respond despite
wanting to.
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#10

Hi :slight_smile: Speculation can provide a lot of amusement.  I like Anne-ology's explanation.  The real answer is quite good too.  So, where did "boot-up" come from?  Wasn't that soem engineering term to do with subs too? Regards from Tom :slight_smile:

Baron von Münchhausen was known for his adventures and exploits. he told of the time he got trapped in a swamp, quicksand. as he sank, he tried to grab hold of branches, vines, anything. to no avail.

finally, in a desperate bid to save his life, he reached down, took hold of his bootstraps and pulled himself up, saving his life!

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Münchhausen>

(maybe he had a submarine too; don't know.)

Felmon

#11

/snip/

The term "boot" or "boot up" comes from the idea of raising yourself by your own bootstraps--seemingly impossible, but when you boot up, you are
using the operating system to start itself.

--doug

#12

Hi :slight_smile:
Thanks all that responded to this!  Now i'm curious where the phrase
"raising yourself by your own bootstraps"
came from.  Is it something to do with horses?  Postal services?
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile: