"come out swinging left and right"
socratis, now that you're not so offended and angry as this morning, you have to admit that nowhere did I do this or yell, kick, or scream. Or even figuratively do so.
GAs 5.2.6 will cause a black screen on some guests
Looking back at what I wrote, I can see that where I did indeed err is where I was talking to you directly about something you said and not sticking strictly with this problem.So I apologize for that. I also deeply apologize for the comment about "boo-ha-ha" considering that a non-native English speaking person may have not meant anything at all by that.
silly mistake that made the 5.2.6 release not optimal.
But then you go on to say this.
I would say that they were way, way worse than not optimal. BUT, as I said in my original post, the problem it caused me, a black screen at boot on 2 separate GAs that turning off 3D acceleration
did
NOT fix was worse than the (what seems like) more common problem that 3D had to be turned off.
However, your reaction to what I DID say pretty well proves my point. If you read back over what I said and what you said to that, you seem pretty angry and I can't see where a person could be angry
about that.
Do you remember back in the days when logs would show that there were many, many more "lurkers" than "posters" in chat rooms and on forums?
Perhaps only 5 out of every 100 people actually posted. Everybody else was scared they would say something stupid, be thought of as stupid, or not even know how to technically post a question, so they just read
and read (and more read) hoping somebody had asked the question about the same problem as theirs.
Now, it's not as bad as it used to be but on some certain forums, the moderator or older users have heard just one too many stupid question and can't stand it anymore so they just answer with either
impertinent answers or no answer at all, just an insult to the poster of the question.
Stack Exchange, which I keep mentioning because I (should
not have said) that you remind me of, but I did and I apologize, is by far the worst for that. Here's a random snippet from a question I just saw where an obvious noob innocently asks "How do I open a terminal?"
It's an old question but it's indicative of the general attitude you get there.
Here are responses: First,
as usual, the question is marked as duplicate, not one word as to the simple answer about how to open a terminal,
a very easy question to answer.
"How do I open a terminal?"
A person innocently asks.
"marked as duplicate by xxx♦, xxx, xxx♦, xxx♦, xxx Sep 4 '12 at 10:25
This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question."
The moderator says.
"Amazingly, I don't think this is a duplicate question. Wow – iii Sep 3 '12 at 23:16" and:
"Hm, I think closing that one was a mistake. "What is a terminal" and "How to open a terminal" are two separate questions. – xxx Sep 3 '12 at 23:21"
Some nice person tries to come to his aid but to no avail.
"Yes, but that is against the principals of Q&A. Questions should not be a FAQ. It does not follow that the questions "What is X" and "Where is X" should be consolidated. – xxx Sep 4 '12 at 0:54"
The moderator insists. Which is completely false, by the way. A series of questions and answers
DO form a FAQ whether it's on a "FAQ" page or in a forum. He's saying here "I will not
answer this question because it's already answered in a FAQ somewhere and I will not repeat it." If someone asked a question like "How can I download the kernel and make my own distribution?" then, yes, perhaps they should be gently pointed elsewhere.
"You may want to post on meta about this. I think you're construing the appropriate scope of a question far more narrowly than is commonplace on Ask Ubuntu or any Stack Exchange site. (and perhaps certain VirtualBox forums - Cetus) But I'm just one person; you may be able to persuade the community at large otherwise."
Another person makes a statement diplomatically pointing out the moderator's bad attitude, which, in general, is the overall attitude at Stack Exchange. I personally never posts questions nor answers there. You are just as likely to get "attacked" for answering as for having the nerve to ask.
So he uses right at 62 words to NOT answer the question and explain why he's not going to, when a very few words would have answered.
As you can see here, the attitude of moderators and old users is first to tell the OP he has no business asking that question. The attitude is that you should read and search and read and search for days if
necessary to try to find the question already answered somewhere else before you dare to ask it.
I would venture to say there are 50 (or more) noobs to every 1 experienced Linux user. And let's not forget a very important thing, the experienced users were once noobs themselves.
"Today I updated to 5.2.6 and after I installed the updated Guest Addition to 5.2.6, both VMs stopped working."
And here? The OP said (in so many words)and then the statement to which you evidently took great offense:
"It would be so great if VirtualBox stopped messing up with the 3D acceleration... it's quite unacceptable now... it happened also in the passage from VirtualBox 5.1 to 5.2. It's annoying
when a newer version screws up like this. It makes the software (and the team behind it) so completely unreliable."
I agree with you that instead of saying the developers were "messing up the 3D acceleration" he could have said "making mistakes", "blunders", "breaking it" or anything else. I believe the developers would say about this problem "We made a mistake but quickly fixed it."
"It makes the software (and the team behind it) so completely unreliable."
But then the OP goes on to state that this, which I DO NOT agree with at all!
I'm sure he said that out of emotion, but still he slams the developers and that's what is unacceptable. After all, this is free software and everyone had better thank the developers with all their
hearts, minds, and bitcoins.
"I don't recall anyone forcing you to upgrade at gun point, do I have it wrong? Updates/upgrades are inherently dangerous operations. If your system works, keep it as is. If your upgrade breaks it? Downgrade.
You don't have to be so pejorative about it..."
But then this is where you also apparently let your anger rule your words
"I'm sure that if you talk to your Oracle representative, he'll be able to push them harder to deliver a product that's according to your satisfaction. Be sure to mention your contract number, it's sort of a
requirement."
and then sarcastically, because you KNOW the OP has no paid representative or he would be talking to that representative and not arriving here by Googl'ing his problem.
"We're all users trying to help each other."
So see, your heart is definitely in the right place because you said this, which is something which should rule us all,but unfortunately, I don't think you practice what you preach since, like I said, you can go back and read what the OP said and what I said and you'll have to agree that YOU were the one yelling, screaming, and swinging.
Please note that I, in no way whatsoever, mean to attack you personally. It's just that I have to disagree with what you said. Us not-very-experienced users could sure use a friend such an old-timer like you when we
have problems, that's all.
I spend a lot of time answering questions in forums. It's kind of my hobby in retirement, actually. I always, always try to remember what it was like when
I was not the most experienced of users.
Like I said before, 99.9% of the time it's supporting Windows users but once in a while I actually see a Linux question to which I know the answer.
I certainly don't tell them "That's answered elsewhere. Your question has been deleted." (like our Stack Exchange friends) As my experience with Windows (and DOS) goes back over 25 years, own a computer repair shop near Birmingham, Alabama, and what I would call a HIGHLY qualified support person, I could easily go around all day telling users that they need to find answers for themselves and quit asking me.
But I don't. I patiently answer, trying to break the answer down to a level I believe will be easier to understand. The one and only thing that does indeed annoy me is when a person keeps coming back with the same question without trying the fix that I offered to start with. Sometimes that feels like "celebrity worship", in a way, if you understand what I mean by that. It's bizarre. They just want to get the attention of a REAL LIVE computer expert. It's what I call "self-inflicted ignorance" when a person asks and asks just to be talking and makes no effort to try to fix a problem. Note that this type of person, invariably, will tell anyone
who asks why their problem still persists (I can just picture a lady sitting at a desk here lol), they will say that YOU couldn't/wouldn't help them!
I'm sorry for my excessive post. I won't be doing it again.
Sincerely,
Cetus
.
