s. keeling wrote:
Incoming from VEGH Karoly:s. keeling wrote:Incoming from VEGH Karoly:pls CC: me, I'm currently offlist.Check the archives then.wow, friendly.?!?atsrvlx03:/opt/dev/tomcat# COLUMNS=76 ps aux | grep ^tom tomcat- 14137 0.2 0.9 236668 30688 pts/0 S 14:37 0:04 /opt/java/cur I would like to see the complete username in the ps output.Looking at the ps manpage, I can see a number of ways to get that. Select processes by (E)UID, change the output format, ...hey man, wtf you think I did up to now?Do you know the difference between a username and a UID? 1) Read carefully. 2) Think. What you perceive to be null content MAY actually be your answer. 3) You're welcome.
I _should_ stay out of this . . . . /RantWhen I first saw the response to the original poster's question, I too thought, "Wow! Not very customer-service oriented, is he?" (Of course, I realize that this list does not have "Friendly and Helpful Customer Service" as its mission, but still, friendly and helpful customer service is one way of evangelizing Debian.)
I also thought, "Why doesn't he just give the answer? I'd like the answer too."
I even took the time to casually browse "man ps", but since it was mere curiosity to know how to do this rather than a need to do so, I quickly gave up on it. Wouldn't it have been nice though (and perhaps for other lurkers also) to have seen the answer in the reply, so that at least two of us would have gotten an education (yes, I know; you're trying to educate the original poster to do his own research -- give a man a fish yada yada).
Now the thread has essentially repeated, with the original poster suggesting he's already done some research and didn't find his answer, and you repeating that he hasn't done enough research or isn't smart enough to do it. And again I think, "why doesn't he just give the answer?!"
To answer your question about knowing the difference between a username and a UID, "Well, I'm not sure that I do. If I think about it, I guess I do, in that a username is a name, and a UID is a numerical number associated with that username." I've been a Debian user for the past 4 or 5 years, so maybe I should have a more concrete definition in mind. Yet I feel put down, like I'm not worthy of running Debian. I know you don't care how I feel in response to your question, but I'm again wondering what the purpose of your reply was. As the original poster has pointed out, both your responses have failed to answer the question.
I normally don't get in a tizzy about such postings, but somehow today, this is just offensive. This list, although not a "Friendly and Helpful Customer Service desk", should be a place to help other users, not offend them and insult their intelligence and prod them along by giving cryptic hints so that they can figure it out themselves.
I urge members of this list to adopt a "Customer Service" attitude. Yes, the same questions get asked over and over, and yes, some questioners are obviously not bright enough to run Debian, and yes, it takes more work on your part, but that's no excuse not to be friendly and courteous and helpful. Be an adult!
For example, instead of saying "Check the archives then", I believe a better response would have been something like "No offense intended, but the more proper behavior is for you to conform to the standard practice of checking the archives in a situation like this rather than expecting this list to conform to your wishes. You can find the March archives at "http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2004/debian-user-200403/threads.html";.
Yes, it takes more work on your part, but it sure makes Debian look better than the terse response does.
And a better response about the actual question would have been something like this:
According to "man ps", the "foo" option is what you want, something like: ps -foo -bar
It doesn't require much more work, still informs the OP that the information he wanted was indeed in the man page, makes him happy, makes lurkers such as myself happy, and increases the overall level/quality of Debian documentation (by the example being archived).
/end_of_Rant -- Kent