Python Origins

[A.M. Kuchling]

On Wed, 06 Dec 2000 17:06:55 -0800, Nathan Gray <nospam at caltech.edu> wrote:
>It's really upsetting how often I've seen this sort of response to a polite
>question on this newsgroup lately.  Tell me, what's so terrible with asking a
>group of experts for pointers when researching a subject?  It's a perfectly
>legitimate and highly effective way to learn about something.  There's plenty

I've noticed this trend, too, though T.C. May, the person you're
replying to, has always had a low tolerance for cluelessness, as I
noted when lurking on the cypherpunks mailing list in the early 90s;
May's posts were often informative and entertaining, but not often
placid.  (I was pleased to turn up here, though I'm not sure why he's
taken up Python.)

Generally I don't bother to flame do-my-homework-for-me posters and
simply ignore them, because I don't want c.l.py to approach
comp.lang.perl.misc's reputation for unfriendliness.  Private mail to
me with such questions also gets unceremoniously deleted, though
usually in private mail people are asking for essays on _Fifth
Business_, not Python help.  (_Fifth Business_ is commonly studied in
Canadian high schools, so I often get that sort of request.  On one
occasion I was flabbergasted to get e-mail from a *parent* asking if I
had an essay on FB their child could use.)

--amk