> > So, when somebody asks for a bandaid, ask about the wound.
>
> I see the problem that Jim described in this response all the time. In

fact

> the more the client I am working with is used to solving problems in their
> own job the worse it gets.
>
> What we do is ask them to start again describing the PROBLEM only, not how
> they imagine it might be solved, we get to that bit later. If they must
> propose how the problem might be solved it had to be done in a separate

and

> subsequent statement.
>
> We should encourage people to submit their feature requests to this list

in

> this form. Perhaps a web page with a few examples that we could point

people

> to would help?

I agree with the merit and ideal of the principle stated here, but this
shouldn't be a stringent restraint on people's contributions here.

The purpose of this list isn't specifically the submitting of "feature
requests". It is a place where people with ideas can air them out. If
someone wants to share the nature of their "wound" it is their business. If
they don't, I don't want to see their thinking "shot down" before its
potential merit is understood and recognized.

If I see someone's idea being "shot down" on that basis, I will furnish a
kind reminder.

Regards,
Jason Wharton
CPS - Mesa AZ
http://www.ibobjects.com