Unicode (was "Call for Tutorial Topics")

[Elizabeth Dalton]

Jeanne A. E. DeVoto wrote:

 > It sounds like you looked only at the dictionary instead of the How
 > Tos.

Actually, I searched all documentation, went systematically through the 
results, then searched this list, before launching on my trial-and-error 
adventure. I seem to recall reading an earlier post that told me that 
was the proper way to proceed.

I appreciate that Unicode is an obscure topic, and I may be the only one 
on this list interested in making it work, but I have to say I'm really 
quite amazed at the attitudes that prevail on this list. I'm personally 
0 for 3 in my experience with the list at this point: when I asked how 
to use a USB device I was told to write an external (though USB is 
supposed to be supported, according to the documentation), when I asked 
about a pinyin display error, I got no response whatsoever, and now when 
I've offered to write a tutorial and sample stack to share what I've 
been able to figure out about a complex and poorly documented topic, 
I've been told it's my fault that I haven't looked at the existing 
documentation correctly. It's bad enough when someone new to the 
product, looking for help, gets this kind of reaction, but when someone 
OFFERING to help gets pushed away... well, let's just say it's lucky for 
RunRev Co. that I'll be making my decision on whether or not to purchase 
a license next week based on the product, not on the user community. I'm 
sure there are some absolutely wonderful people on this list who go out 
of their way to help new users, but that hasn't been my experience so 
far, personally or as an observer.

Perhaps what we need, instead of or in addition to user docs and a UI 
intended for novice programmers, is a support list intended for novice 
programmers.

Regards,

Elizabeth Dalton