First post, so I have to have a rant

Well, greetings everyone. Welcome to YAODBA. I have been spending some time on the news groups via google, answer some questions and posting some opinions. It always amazes me how completely ignorant and completely untrained some people are, and the tasks they seem to be trying to carry out are so far over their heads it is stunning. My opinion is the internet is working hard at making ignorant people who feel it is easier to ask someone than to go find out the answer for themselves. Asking questions is great, but at least recognized the fact there IS a manual for the oracle product you are asking about and with a 5 minute read, you can probably zero in on the chapter regarding the question. Do that and you will know more about the fix to the problem, the problem itself and odds are something else as well simply from the intellectual osmosis that might happen. Asking questions is a good thing, and I encourage it, but please... try for yourself first. Well end of the rant. I, like most knowledgeable oracle involved people, spend a lot of time nursing at the teat of information from the Great Thomas Kyte. From the his books, the oracle magazine articles, asktom.oracle.com and his relatively new blog, he provides the oracle community with the much needed insight and information, with the proper amount of sarcasm and ranting needed to set some people straight. I have in the past been the type of IT guy that helps set the stereotype in stone, I stayed quiet, I stayed at the back of the room, I only communicated via email. Phone calls flustered me. I have been working on getting out of that shell, as I realized it was only something I did at work, in my personal life I am involved in the community, I spend time at my kids school. I "participate" in life. I get to work, and I am the typical cube dweller. Co-workers would only see me if they were brave enough to come ask for help directly or as I came in or left the building. I realized that sitting and whining about peoples lack of knowledge, instead of trying to enlighten them did nothing but raise my blood pressure and make me sound like a horrible little person. So I broke out of my shell about 3 months ago, and life is getting better. Co-Workers freely come and talk to me, invite me out for lunch and refer to me in the first person... Instead of "The DBA". I have SO much to share... I don't know where to start. But it won't matter, with all of the oracle blogs out there, I doubt this one will get any notice.