Give a man a fish....

There are plenty of fish in this sea!!!

"Call me Ishmael." Anybody seen a big white whale around here?

That's a bad AHABit!

I understand and have shared the sentiment this thread is based on, quite often. Let's say that first.

Now, I mostly feel slightly different. I no longer begrudge the fish I give out, even knowing I accidentally create Excel fish-beggars by handing them out.

For me, I now think of it as, "As people beg for specific fish, my ability to fish-specifically gets better and better, so in giving these fish away my skills increase much faster than they would otherwise. Nothing is more instructive than a real-world exercise."

So now my parable goes more like:

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, and still need another fish tomorrow. But I fish faster and faster now, so giving them away is less a problem for me, and I'm catching so many fish people are starting to pay me for my extra fish, and so I'm handing out fish with good notes about where I got them and hoping for the best, because my blessings are overflowing from doing this and doing this and doing this...."

Some of us just have so many fish* we don't know what to do with them, so might as well give them away so that someone else can have them - even if that person is a fish beggar.

That being said if they are an annoying fish begger I'll save my fish for a more polite one. there are plenty of fish beggars in the sea

*in this case the time and enthusiasm for this sort of thing

Do you think we might be stretching the fish metaphors a little now? Or am I talking out of plaice?

Some people will never be able to fish themselves. It's kindest to just feed them.

As an educator, I have to disagree with you, Olly, on both counts.

Surely this is a help forum, not a school, though? Although there are many who seemingly come to learn, others are simply stuck and want an answer. Given that there is nothing in the rules that I have seen to require any effort on the asker's part, I think it is entirely up to each person to decide whom they wish to help, or not.

Personally, I tend to prioritise those who seem to have made some effort, but I'll try and help anyone else as well, time permitting. (I'd certainly never suggest that someone should not get help when they need it.) I would have to say that I have even seen a few people who seem very unsuited to the tasks they are undertaking, and who should probably seek more help rather than cobbling bits and pieces together...

Yes, it’s a help forum, not a school, but it depends how you define ‘help’. I see it very much as a two-way process, but as has been said, it’s up to each individual how they choose to exercise it.

Whichever approach is taken, I think those seeking help here get excellent support, and most of their comments and thanks on receiving that help seem to support the notion. There are lots of happy fishes!

Fish fish fish fish .................

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(yes, I drew it free hand, don't be jealous of my artisticness)

Hey Jerry!

That's a Jackson Pollock, right?

Ha! Pollock.... I get it!

Brill-iant. So much codding around in this plaice. it's sardinely what I'd eggspect from y'all. I sit here, floundering trying to think of any fin to say. Stop... before the wrasse of cod strikes us all down...

Oh, Glenn! Is this really the plaice for this?

He's merely showing his gratefulness I guess.

This is when I hark back to those magical words of the great Martin Luther King

“I have a bream......”

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and then when the next project arrives, they will be scrod.

... had to google that one. We don't have scrod over here....

Glenn,

Generally the fish of the day in Boston. Usually a white fish like cod.

The old New England Joke. Bostonian in a taxi in Chicago asks the driver where he can get Scrod. The driver responds he has never heard the term in the past plu-perfect.

Yeah - Coddling them just spoils them

@JB: are you sure that's a fish? It looks a LOT like one of your rockets ...

??? On its side??

RoFLAO .....

Well, I’m NOT a rocket scientist, but I think they do that sometimes (in orbit, maybe?) Or, am I just thinking of James Bond movies??

Flying fish ...

Flying Fish at Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbtsfyrEF_c

They have trouble with their "R's" and "L's"