Aparently, the first post in CSAM agrees...

1. Stop categorising people into "developers" and "users", it only serves to alienate one group from the other (in both directions).

2. Take your arguments to email earlier, please (unless they're the five minute variety which are quite fun to read). And please don't start a full half hour argument on every flipping thread and forum which you both contribute to. We know some of you don't get on.

3. Don't complain about wasting your time, if all you're doing is wasting your time complaining about it. (Recursive)

4. Google is your friend. But for many users who are still on slow and expensive internet connections, newsgroups may be more friendly.

5. A lot of the questions on newsgroups are frequently asked. Perhaps we should update the Frequently Asked Questions list to make it more relevant to modern RISC OS use?

6. Often, it's just a joke. Laugh.

I was hoping you would write one of those :)

;)

I'd like to add an extra point to the parody guide myself (numbered 13a here, because the existing number 14 is the perfect way to finish the list):

13a. Be sure to criticise other people's lack of care, poor understanding of English grammar and inability to spell whenever they make any kind of typo. Always remember to demonstrate that your own command of grammar and punctuation is at least one order of magnitude more inept than that of the person you're criticising. Include as many typographical gaffes of your own as possible, to reinforce this point.

I'll add them to the list if people don't mind?

And also strangely pertinent, given Peter's comments about his name in the article - which, by a strange quirk of coincidence, is precisely what I was going to make a silly comment about.

The comment being that henceforth, I shall always think of Peter's name as being "Pointers Null"

"If you think you're starting to lose an argument, change the subject. No one ever notices."

...on second thoughts, let's not go there!

http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:HMtn6cdNYaMJ:www.riscos.info/posting/+naulls+guidelines&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Personally, I read it, thought "what a cheek" (especially the "Proper Use of English" section), and expected to see several posts extracting lager-coloured bodily fluids, not the vitriol that actually happened. I think that telling anyone how to behave is almost always going to lead to problems (not just on Usenet, try asking single people parked in parent and child spaces where they left their child sometime; don't expect an apology!), and that's doubly true if people think you've behaved badly in the past.

I think perhaps Peter Howkins' version is more likely to make people think about what they are doing.