Idea: Master Debian FAQ (newbie-centric)
Greetings folks,
As a newcomer to Debian I, like many since I've joined this list, ask typical
newbie questions about the some basic things. If we take a step back and look
at the big picture there is a basic group of things new users want to get
accomplished. For example most users want to send mail to other people. While
we could say to them "go RTFM!" that is hardly what they are asking for. If
they did take that RTFM advice...how many of them do you think would stay
around? Not a lot likely. HOWTO's, README's, etc are fine and dandy and
very informative once you have a base knowledge under your belt and you can
appreciate what they are. But for someone that is "brand new" it is just
overwhelming. What I'm getting around to saying is how can we, the Debian
community, set up some newbie FAQ's that are tailored specifically at the
very new person trying out linux and doesn't want "every switch" explained
in detail. Most people, if I am not mistaken, want easy to understand
documentation that gets them up and running fast with concrete examples of
the cmd in action for a variety of "most used" scenarios. Take the following
topics:
email, ssh, http, sound, xwindows, security, word processors, tar
Each one of those topics probably has a handful of "how do I" associated with
it that a very new user would "typically" ask to this list. First off I'd like
to ask if someone has already gathered a FAQ like this for Debian. If not,
I'd like to volunteer my time in creating (when I have the knowledge) parts
of the FAQ. Some basic questions come up though and these I throw out to you,
the Debian community:
1. Who would house/display the FAQ so it is always available.
2. Who can contribute and how?
3. Who does quality control checks?
4. How do you submit an article to be included?
5. What would be a successful structure/format?
6. Would the Debian main page hold a link to this if it's done well and tailored
toward Debian?
Again, I'd like to be part of this and am willing do devote some of my time
to getting easy to understand documentation out to newbies...of which I still
consider myself a member. I have several other newbie friends that I provide
tech support to on linux and most of the time I end up referring them to a
spot on my home website that I have documented how I was able to get things
working for myself.
If your interested in this project or have suggestions please feel free to
contact me on the list here or privately at jensenb@charter.net. It would
be a shame to let all the talent that people on this list have stored in their
heads go to waste by being burned out by constant repeats of the same question.
Regards,
Bill Jensen
Reply to: