>I was talking with some of the employees at a relatively new contract I have and they said that the boss (not exactly pointy-haired, but close) told them that they shouldn't look for answers for Foxpro issues on UT because it was a waste of their time; they should already know the answer or ask their coworkers or look it up in the help.

Yes, I've run across these types. As an employee, I had bosses and co-workers that ran the gamut from "I know everything without the online communities, so you should too" to "We know what we're doing, WE don't need to let anyone know we need help" to "What a waste of time...the help file has everything you need to know" to "Contacts? Why do you need contacts? You've got a wonderful job here--are you thinking of leaving?" This started in the days of the Compuserve FoxForum, way back in '86...so I've had YEARS of this attitude .

I've been through the "this is SOOOOO addictive and I'm likely wasting time" -- however, sometimes I get those thoughts on the very thread that I wind up looking for within a week or two. Yes, I TRY to limit the amount of time, to the point that I don't log in if I have deadlines.

What I'd do is to continue monitoring the online fora, but I didn't make an issue of it. Many times I'd wind up the "answer man" of the group, because if I didn't know the answer, I'd miraculously know in a few hours (of course, I'd search the UT for that info!). If they asked, I'd tell them where I found the information, but didn't offer that I found it on their definition of a time-waster/nothing-better-than-the-manual resource.

As a contractor, I get more leeway. I can walk in and say that this is one of my tools, just like the Help file, manuals, MSDN, Hentzenwerke book .CHM files, and so on. I'll let them have whatever their opinion is, but it doesn't take long before they figure out I can answer just about any question -- and I'll tell 'em where I found the information.

Another interesting thing has happened. My husband, an IBM Mainframe Systems Programmer, continually thought I was wasting my time with the various online forums, as far back as 1986 (of course, the addictive nature of these forums makes it EASY to spend an evening online, meaning I'm ignoring him!). About six months ago, he found a listserve for OS/390, and now he tells me that this listserve is the greatest thing in the world! There's so much information available -- why, I ought to find one for FoxPro stuff! <faint>! I let this go on for a while, just smiling and nodding my head. When I couldn't take it anymore, I showed him that the UT doesn't clutter up my inbox like a listserve does, I can access it from ANY computer hooked up to the internet, I can see pictures of the people I'm corresponding with...do NOT show off to your spouse like this! At least, after 15 years, he FINALLY understands, and doesn't feel AS slighted when I sit in front of the TV with the laptop (at least I can sit on the sofa next to him while I lurk!).

The bottom line to all this is that the UT is a tool in my toolbox. A very handy tool at that! But, I would hope that I was hired for my expertise, part of which is knowing which tool to use. You might try this analogy: Mr. Pointyhead, you wouldn't expect Networking to be pleased if I told them how to set up network security -- that would be telling them how to do their job! So don't expect me to be pleased if you ask me to stop using a tool that I find makes me far more productive! Of course, if you'd like me to lower my productivity...<eg>

- della