Chances are I'll get downvoted for this. That's fine... Chances are I'll lose a lot of XP for this... That's fine too... But what I'm about to discuss is something that bothered me:

I was logged in when someone else logged in (I'll leave out the name) and asked a questions to the effect: "How come this .cgi file doesn't work?"...

Ok, I know off-topic talk goes on in the CB, as I know most of us have been involved in. That's what it's made for (chatter, that is). Of course, whenever I go into #perl on Dalnet or EFnet (depending on where I am when I connect), the topic always says "This is not #cgi, #apache, or..." There's off topic talk in #perl (and #perlmonks for that matter), but it's never help-desk type talk.

I think my gripe with that whole conversation in the CB was that it made it seem like The Monastery was turning into #apache all of a sudden. Even if it is for a second, it scared me something terrible.

I know that most people around here are fairly familiar with CGI, Apache, and web services in general. That should be obvious since a lot of monks are coding CGI apps. I'm pretty sure that most small-time (read: non-corporate) CGI coders have designed web-boards and/or posted FAQs for their work... It would be quite silly not to.

I never expected the CB to turn into a "newbie helpdesk" in a matter of seconds. I'm not saying that people can't ask questions (even OT). I think what I'm saying is made more clear by the following statement: "You wouldn't go to Slashdot to ask how to configure a Winmodem."

I think the whole point of this rant is: "If you are doing anything that is beyond your level of understanding, you should at least know where to go for the appropriate help."

NOTE: The person eventually got their problem solved, which is cool. It was, in fact, a Perl problem. The particular .cgi file was riddled with errors (or at least someone said that it was).

Am I being paranoid/silly? Or, should I be shocked that someone used this place as a helpdesk for a totally unrelated subject?

Theodore Charles III
Network Administrator
Los Angeles Senior High
4650 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
323-937-3210 ext. 224
email->secon_kun@hotmail.com
perl -e "map{print++$_}split//,Mdbnr;"

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