Write page: Etiquette > Willingness to learn

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Whether you've been participating in technology for 2 weeks or 20 years, there's always something new to learn.

Never assume you know what's going on. Always ask questions if there is ANY doubt whatsoever.

Please remember that everyone else who is participating is in the same boat as you. We're all here to contribute and learn from our peers.

Even if it feels as though your questions are stupid, please do not be afraid to ask. You have no chance of learning if you don't ask the questions.

And let's face it: there's no such thing as a stupid question.

If you HAVE been doing this for a long time, please never forget that other people know things you do not.

Do not be an arrogant toad.

Do not become "that person".

Answers:

When you ask, understand that it may take people a while to get things done and reply to you.
Don't be afraid to approach the problem in parallel: Ask your question, but also seek answers elsewhere, where possible.
As you participate in open source, it won't take long before someone presents you with the treasured acronym: RTFM. (link to "RTFM"). While this is often presented in a snippy, passive-aggressive way, there's a remarkable amount of value in the concept. Before asking your question, it's worth your time to search StepZero, your project's documentation, the issue tracker for your project, or your favorite search engine for the answer to your question. Even if you don't understand the answers that you find, the information you have read will allow you to form better questions which will help you refine your question to get the answer you need.

Willingness to learn also means accepting a degree of humility.

We don't know everything. And it's galling to expose one's ignorance. Let's face it: it sucks to show that we don't know everything in the world.

The sad fact of the matter is that we DON'T know everything. If we did, we wouldn't need StepZero (or lots of other things).

There's no shame in ignorance. There's only shame in being so proud as to not to fix ignorance by seeking information.

Ask questions. You'll be glad you did.

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