what do you get with 1 divide by 998001, interesting results

[Terry Reedy]

On 8/20/2014 11:36 AM, Everything You Need To Know wrote:
> Neat little exercise, surprisingly cool results!
> less than 3 minutes!
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlDjl5JK0eU&feature=youtu.be

Dear EYNToK (Adam Nowak?, the name on the video?): I am both a long-term 
participant in this group and currently one of the behind-the-scenes 
moderators. Here are the mistakes you made.

0. You posted from Google Groups.
0a. GG is the source of at least half the spam targeted at python-list, 
including the stuff that gets caught and discarded by me or another 
moderator.  Google gives the appearance of being indifferent to being 
spam source #1. Or maybe they see it as a mark of success somehow.
0b. By default, GG does not follow normal and reasonable protocols. 
Google is obviously indifferent to that. At one time in the past, Google 
would have been cut off from usenet groups for GG's behavior. Now Google 
is too big and powerful and hence arrogant.
0c. Some posters, when requested, change the defaults as requested and 
instructed. Some do not, thereby asking to be ignored.

1. A pseudonym, but not just a pseudonym, but one that could be 
interpreted as intentionally obnoxious and 'in our faces', such as used 
by trolls.  I realize that as a newcomer, you don't know the history, 
but it affects people who have been around awhile.

2. Slightly deceptive subject line, to your detriment. The video is 
about simulating indefinite precision long division with python. This is 
a quite legitimate beginner exercise. The 1/998001 example is just an 
illustration of the value of being able to get more than 18 decimal digits.

3. The form of your post! It screams 'I am spam!' Judgment in 3 seconds!

In sum, if this post had been presented to me by the spam filter for 
action, and I had acted without viewing the video, especially late at 
night when tired, I might have deleted it.

Having watched the video, I now know that would have been a mistake. As 
Steven said, properly formatted occasional announcements of free 
python-related resources are on-topic. (If we got multiple such 
announcements every day, we might change the rules.) I agree with the 
rest of his excellent post.

-- 
Terry Jan Reedy