Re: Homework

[Gary Turner <kk5st@swbell.net>]

On Mon, 10 Dec 2001 14:49:56 -0800, martin f krafft wrote:

>also sprach Nicolás Conde <nconde@fing.edu.uy> [2001.12.10.0901 -0800]:
>> 1. RTFM (Read The Friendly Manual)
>> 2. Search the {archives | HOW-TOs}
>
>the debian community is very newbie friendly, and we understand that
>these resources might not be very helpful to people who are just
>entering the domain. so we encourage people to ask if that's going to
>make their linux/debian time easier. you certainly do have a point --
>and i need to work on this myself -- that a lot of people use the debian
>lists out of pure laziness. it's debian's fault because the
>subscribers are just so damn good :)
>
Especially folks like yourself and Mr. Self himself (sorry, couldn't
resist)

>anyway, i think the general feel is that anyone should rather post a
>question on this list than to get lost and give up! reading the
>manual and researching is educational, but you need to know the basics
>first!
>
Absotively!  Learning Linux, for a newbie coming from MS, is like
studying a foreign culture--in a foreign language.  We don't know the
vocabulary, syntax, argot, jargon, or the underlying culture and
assumptions.  In other words, it's tough without some human/humane
tutoring to translate some of the more arcane and esoteric details, or
even the grand ideas.

>> 3. Ask your local {Linux | Unix} guru (if you have one)
>
>i would disagree with that mainly since i tend to be that guru. the
>mailing list is (a) a place where there is *a lot more* knowledge than
>a guru has, and (b) it's a forum where everyone can profit. every too
>often i stumble upon a thread that is very interesting, or which
>solved a problem of mine. this is the true power of the mailing lists.
>
True.  True.  I read nearly every posting.  An awful lot have no meaning
for me at this time.  I am picking up on the terminology and background
so that when the question arises on my own boxes, I might recall how to
search for an answer.
>only questions unasked are stupid questions! and the mailing list is
>there for the debian users. don't abuse it because you are lazy, but
>don't be intimidated because you feel like you don't know the stuff,
>and could appear as an ignorant luser... you are running debian, you
>are, by definition, part of the elite :)

tnx for a share of the soapbox,

gt
Yes I fear I am living beyond my mental means--Nash