On Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 05:32:59PM -0700, Steve Friis wrote:
>
> Thad Floryan wrote:
> > --- In linux@yahoogroups.com, Scott <scottro@...> wrote:
> >
> >> Something like, I can't get wireless to work--I've googled but haven't
> >> found anything. A question like that is probably going to get rude
> >> answers if it gets an answer at all.
> >>
> >
> > More people should read:
> >
> > <http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html>
> >
> > so that relevant info is in the first post for help (thus not requiring
> > eleventy-seven back-and-forths to simply determine which distro and
> > hardware in involved).
> >
> > :-)
> >
> That would be great for you geeks :-) Who have been using Linux for
> years. For some of us, this is a whole new world. Where do we begin?
> Even the names were changed to confuse us innocent. I wish I had a
> command of just the language you people use.

Thad's link is written by someone who's more or less a Linux rock star.
:) It's still excellent, even for beginners, though it can scare them
off. The list faq, outdated though it is, still has good points about
how to post... http://home.roadrunner.com/~computertaijutsu/linfaq.html.
There's a link there to a FAQ or howto by Godwin that's also quite good,
even for the beginner.

> I am what you would call a feeble desktop exploiter. I use Linux because
> I hate the way Windows treated me when I had to reload it and couldn't
> find the correct license. At the time, we had 5 Windows XP computers.
> Now we have none.

Yes, back when Mr. Raymond wrote his essay, the bar was higher, so
to speak--you had to know more about your computer to get Linux to work
at all. Knoppix, I think, was one of the first to change that, but
anyway...

Yes, it can be intimidating. However, we (and I think most mailing
lists and forums) are quite tolerant of people who aren't quite sure
what to ask and who feel lost. Sometimes, the information is right out
there, and we get irked that they didn't even try, other times, googling
simply doesn't help. As one friend wrote on another list--to be pointed
to a cryptic howto that says enable smtp authorization on postfix, as if
it were a self standing instruction, was beyond his ability and beyond
what he was willing to do for what he wanted.

He's right--some howtos simply assume too much knowledge on the part of
the reader, sort of like giving a Ph.D DNA thesis to some 5 year old
asking where babies come from.

>
> I am willing to put up with a lot, but there are a great many here who
> you guys scare off because you demand us to start with the correct
> terminology.
> If we already had the correct verbage in the correct sintax, we would
> have probably found the answer using Yahoo or Google search.

Hrrm, I don't think that's quite fair. We usually point out what needs
to be asked. Of course, we have moods too, some of us are grouchier
than others, and the grouchiest one can change at any time.

My own feeling is to be tolerant as long as I see someone is making
effort--I truly understand that it can be overwhelming. The information
may be out there, but it's scattered all over the place.

Just hang in there, and soon you'll be intolerant too--no, no, I meant
to say, and soon you'll be one of the ones giving the answers rather
than asking the questions.
Just take a look at Godwin's articles though, to make sure to post your
questions in a way that the geeks types don't mind reading--mostly being
sure to trim unnecessary stuff, and try to not top post, and you'll
probably be fine. You also, if you're going to go with Fedora, might
consider their forums, which can be quite valuable, though it certainly
has its share of grouchy people. However, a good 95 percent of the
time, you'll get some sort of answer--not always of course, sometimes,
it's one of those weird things that no one knows.



--
Scott Robbins
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