Re: debiantutorials.org seeks input and new blood
Miles Fidelman wrote:
> H.S. wrote:
>> Miles Fidelman wrote:
>>
>>> There's still something awfully useful and compelling about a serious
>>> reference manual, all in one place, with a comprehensive
>>> table-of-contents, detailed index, and embedded references.
>>>
>>
>> Sure there is, but one has to keep the audience in mind. A beginner or a
>> person just starting to find introductory information regarding current
>> linux distros and related applications and programs is best served by
>> google (the search is very fast and reasonably efficient) as an initial
>> step. If one did not have today's web search engines at his disposal, it
>> would take much longer to start getting comfortable with an OS.
>>
>> Once a user is past the novice/beginner stage, a reference becomes more
>> useful. Wikis are a breed apart, no reference book can compete against
>> this live documentation. But an internet connection becomes an absolute
>> necessity then. Books are the best as stand alone refs, can be read
>> almost anywhere (in a canoe, for exampe, :) ), mostly without need of
>> any electrical power. However, it is much more faster to search for
>> information in an electronic text document.
>>
> I beg to differ. There's a reason that "dummies" books and "missing
I did not have these kind of texts in mind. I was thinking about the
usual traditional serious text: user guides versus reference manuals.
Many people mistakenly interchange the two terms to describe a text.
> manuals" sell so well. I google all the time, but it helps to have some
> idea of what one is looking for, and how to select from among the huge
> amounts of things one finds - something beginners can't be expected to
Yes, one would think that. However, I have seen novices search google
with terms that comes to their mind (instead of technically precise
terms) about a particular task or aspect of an OS and still find
answers. This works, IMHO, because some other posters have used similar
vocabulary for similar problem. So if one is not familiar with the
precise terminology and has a vague idea what to look for, online
searches tend to be much more efficient than books since a books is
hardly going to rephrase every problem in every possible way using every
variation of terms. That same user, after a bit of searching, has a
better grasp of terminology because the related comments or answers
online have clarified or refined that and can refer to a book more
comfortably. In short, searching with informal or casual language is
best served by online searches than by technical text.
The other way is the most traditional, asking local gurus or friends.
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