Path: news.mathworks.com!not-for-mail
From: "Ned Gulley" <gulley@mathworks.com>
Newsgroups: comp.soft-sys.matlab
Subject: Is the "newbie" tag helpful or pejorative?
Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 22:50:30 +0000 (UTC)
Organization: The MathWorks Inc
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This newsgroup is a valuable resource for everyone who uses
MATLAB, whether they are experienced or not. But it is
sometimes useful to know the experience level of the person
posing a given question, especially if that experience level
is very low.

I wonder if we can find a tag (like "newbie" or some other
such word) that is not stigmatizing and allows people to
flag themselves as new users who need a little more coaching.

Clearly it's not good for people to be spoon-fed solutions
to their homework. But there is a place for gently assisted
learning. Some people enjoy doing this kind of coaching, and
some do not. By attaching an appropriate tag to a post, we
might minimize the interactions between those seeking
elementary help and those who prefer assisting people with
more advanced skills. Then again, such a tag might be seen
as pejorative and not be very useful after all.

Thoughts?

Ned Gulley
gulley@mathworks.com