It's time for me to rant, again. This time, about reading. Steam has recently launched the beta for their family sharing feature, which is anemic at best, but a step in the right direction, I think. I'm not actually writing about that, though. There have been all sorts of questions about the service that legitmately need to be asked and aren't answered or addressed in the info provided so far or the FAQ. I have been hanging out in the group chat and have even helped a few people with the issues they were having, but some of the questions I have to answer could have simply been answered if they had just read the FAQ and other info that Steam has already provided. More than 80% of the questions I answered had already been answered, really.
Seriously, people, this is why people think Americans are retarded. Read, and you'd have your answers. Too lazy to read? Then why are you wasting more time typing up your complaints about something when you could have read the answers in less time and not looked like a freaking idiot in the process. I'm not kidding on that, either. I read the whole FAQ in a pretty short period of time and only had one or two questions on the matter, but the people who come into chat spend several minutes explaining what they are doing or complaining that it's not working for them and then go into long arguments about what they have to do to get it working, allthewhile, the answeres were just a couple of clicks away and concisely answered already.
What I find even more baffling is the rudeness frequently displayed when you answer someone's question, but it's not the answer that they want to hear. I don't have to answer anyone's questions. I'm not an employee of Valve, or a moderator of any sort on steam, therefore, I have no obligation to deal with anyone on matters of fixing problems and getting things working. If I'm answering a question, it's because I wanted to be nice and help someone out. Next thing I know, I'm getting cursed at, called names, belittled, and everything else nasty and unfriendly because the answers to their questions weren't the ones that they wanted.
Lastly, I was helping out a friend on one of the online chat rp sites I frequent with their computer running slow. I gave him specific instructions on what he needed to do and told him that I couldn't do more without charging him, but I did give him all the steps to do the basics on his own. So he goes quiet for several minutes and I go about my business. Next thing I know, he's messaging me about how he's just messed up his computer and things that it can't be repaired. Then he starts blaming me for it. Of course, I wasn't going to let that stand and asked him what he did and he starts going off into all these things he had done from reading other people's websites and listening to a friend instead of following my instructions and I'm suddenly to blame for his computer not working.
I think I've had it with helping people online. Have you had any idiotic experiences with things of this sort online? Let me know in the comments if you have. I'm curious to hear.
