help

[Ethan Blanton]

(Pulled back to support@ as an instructive example.)

Terry Haggis spake unto us the following wisdom:
> Is this for real? Is this supposed to be Support??
> 
> A little bit rude if you ask me.

So is asking a question which has been answered numerous times, and
without even looking to see if there's been an update to Pidgin to fix
it.

From another poorly-formatted email:
> Can I have the contact details of your line manager please.

There are no "line managers".  Pidgin is an Open Source software
project, written by volunteers in their free time, and given to you
for free in the hopes that it will be useful to you.  Support is
likewise handled on an entirely volunteer basis, by the developers who
wrote it for you and gave it to you for free.  The least you can do is
look at the support archives, FAQ, etc. before asking a question
wherein you *admit* that you spent no time whatsoever trying to solve
it.

Perhaps you're under the impression that you bought Pidgin, or a
Pidgin support package, or that Pidgin is a commercial product in
which the developers have a pecuniary interest.  None of these
statements are true.  We are volunteers, we give you Pidgin out of our
own free time and free will, and we support it on the same.  This is a
relationship where both parties have to be prepared to give a little.
We gave a lot.  It's your turn.

The fact that you are contacting us under business auspices indicates
a likelihood that Pidgin *is* working in your financial interest, as
you were able to obtain a capable and flexible messenger program *for
free*.  Consider reading the available documentation the purchase
price.  :-P

Ethan (Who does not speak for all Pidgin developers, some are much
       softer-hearted than I.)
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