- You might not get too worked up if you're arguing the relative merits of poll() or kqueue(), but if you walk into a discussion with a strong emotional need to "get your way," consider the possibility you are simply arguing preference or personal affiliation. Advocacy discussions are best held quietly, via /msg, or on channels especially created for the purpose.
-- **Take criticism to private message.** Criticising someone's behaviour on channel holds them up to public scrutiny in a negative way. It's usually overkill. In your messages, don't address the subject of whether you have channel operator privileges; just be courteous. Request nicely that they change their behaviour. In many cases you'll discover that problem user you are dealing with is merely inexperienced. An aggressive tone makes for a longer and more involved discussion, and pent-up frustration which will raise the channel temperature sooner or later. You can always use channel operator privileges, or have someone else use them, as needed; but with a courteous tone, you'll need to do that a lot less.
-- **Don't be elitist.** Today's newbies are tomorrow's experts. A support channel is a place where people with knowledge lead by example. Is the example you want to set that technical knowledge is a hierarchy of control, or that people with knowledge have an inherent social advantage over people who don't? Helping other people takes patience. It's better not to answer a question than to use the opportunity to emphasise the limitations of the person you're trying to help.
-- **Don't be caught by support burnout.** It's nearly impossible to answer every technical question that comes to your channel. In many cases, the problem doesn't lie in the technical aspects of the question; cultural barriers may get in the way of communication, or it may be difficult to explain to a newbie just where to begin. When you try to answer every question, regardless of difficulty, you set yourself up for **support burnout**.
- Support burnout is nearly always accompanied by the feeling that you're losing control of your time, that the people you've set out to help are making unreasonable demands. The problem is that you're taking on too much responsibility; but it begins to appear instead that the problem is the end user who's asking for help.
+ You might not get too worked up if you are arguing the relative merits of poll() or kqueue(), but if you walk into a discussion with a strong emotional need to "get your way," consider the possibility you are simply arguing preference or personal affiliation. Advocacy discussions are best held quietly, via /msg, or on channels especially created for the purpose.
+- **Take criticism to private message.** Criticising someone's behaviour on channel holds them up to public scrutiny in a negative way. It's usually overkill. In your messages, do not address the subject of whether you have channel operator privileges; just be courteous. Request nicely that they change their behaviour. In many cases you will discover that problem user you are dealing with is merely inexperienced. An aggressive tone makes for a longer and more involved discussion, and pent-up frustration which will raise the channel temperature sooner or later. You can always use channel operator privileges, or have someone else use them, as needed; but with a courteous tone, you will need to do that a lot less.
+- **Don't be elitist.** Today's newbies are tomorrow's experts. A support channel is a place where people with knowledge lead by example. Is the example you want to set that technical knowledge is a hierarchy of control, or that people with knowledge have an inherent social advantage over people who do not? Helping other people takes patience. It is better not to answer a question than to use the opportunity to emphasise the limitations of the person you are trying to help.
+- **Don't be caught by support burnout.** It is nearly impossible to answer every technical question that comes to your channel. In many cases, the problem does not lie in the technical aspects of the question; cultural barriers may get in the way of communication, or it may be difficult to explain to a newbie just where to begin. When you try to answer every question, regardless of difficulty, you set yourself up for **support burnout**.
+ Support burnout is nearly always accompanied by the feeling that you are losing control of your time, that the people you have set out to help are making unreasonable demands. The problem is that you are taking on too much responsibility; but it begins to appear instead that the problem is the end user who is asking for help.