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AsiaTraveller · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 8:19 pm Post subject:

marblez,

Then exactly why is it appropriate to post in this forum a plea for help in solving a trivial introductory undergraduate statistics exercise in which the actual numbers and countries don't matter??

You want to give him a break why???

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Marblez:

I hope with your devil-may-care attitude toward grammar that you are not an ESL teacher?

Following what I THINK is your logic, and skipping ahead past the sneers in my direction, there was no reason for the OP to present his/her poll on this particular forum. Since the actual data collected is meaningless, he could have just asked folks in the street. Or he could have just made it up, and filled in the blanks in the equation.

PS: FYI, I have taught statistics....

marblez · Joined: 24 Oct 2004 Posts: 248 Location: Canada

I think that it is just better to tell them not to post that here. I don't think it is the right forum either and I did not even answer the poll. It IS silly, but the reactions towards the OP are just awful. As teachers, should you all not be a little kinder towards a student with a silly question?

Moonraven, I do not have a bad attitude about grammar. But I do not care to analyze my posts everytime. I am not in a classroom. I am in my bedroom, wearing pajamas and watching the People's Court off to the side. We all make mistakes, and you have made quite a few yourself. So just play nice and treat people a little nicer. I respect the fact that you are a well-educated teacher, so please respect the fact that I have been working to become one myself. We all start somewhere.

marblez · Joined: 24 Oct 2004 Posts: 248 Location: Canada

I would like to add that many say that this is a "General Discussion" and the posts do not need to contain any sort of ESL-related content. I personally thought that the forum became overrun with political posts. I am accepting of this. So now, I am defending this off-topic post, and those who defended the off-topic political posts are attacking this one. Is it not worth defending if it does not represent our own personal agendas?

AsiaTraveller · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 8:48 pm Post subject:

The post was ridiculed and "attacked" mostly because the question was so poorly defined for us AND because it was unanswerable. Why then post it in the first place?

marblez · Joined: 24 Oct 2004 Posts: 248 Location: Canada

Fair enough. I think it's best to just let this one slide the bottom, it's getting a bit ugly. The OP has learned a valuable lesson, although it has nothing to do with mathematics.

mesmerod · Joined: 19 Jul 2004 Posts: 106

my vote goes to japan

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

dyak · Joined: 25 Jun 2003 Posts: 630

My vote goes to any nationality that hasn't contributed to this thread.

Ooops... sorry England.

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Dyak, haven't you just disqualified England by posting. Therefore contributing to the thread?

Peligro · Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 16

marblez · Joined: 24 Oct 2004 Posts: 248 Location: Canada

If Antarctica was a country (is it not just a bunch of claims?), then it would win.

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

Peligro:

By telling us how horrible we all are you have pretty well sealed your doom as far as receiving any help from us.

You should be thankful that folks at least took the trouble to respond to your poorly expressed question, but you complained instead.

I suggest that you lay this poll on all of the teachers in the school where you are taking this class. Perhaps because they know you, they will be more compassionate than we have been. And perhaps that would have been the route to follow from the beginning?

Cardinal Synn · Joined: 01 Nov 2004 Posts: 586

Poor Peligro has crash landed into the forum from hell! Land of the sarcastic, realm of the putdown, domain of the condescending.

marblez · Joined: 24 Oct 2004 Posts: 248 Location: Canada

How on earth was the person being helped in the first place by being belittled?

The OP's question has been called stupid, brain-dead, idiotic, etc. To those who said those awful words - what sort of things do you say to your students? Goodness.