Re: help

[Chris Bannister <mockingbird@earthlight.co.nz>]

On Wed, Feb 02, 2011 at 02:24:01PM +0000, Lisi wrote:
> 
> Chris - I am beginning to think that Chamaleón's problem understanding what we 
> are on about, may be semantic.

I may be underestimating the knowledge that a newbie may have. But I
prefer to err on the side of caution. You quite often get an idea of
what their knowledge is by the content of their post.

If someone posts to this list they are (usually) looking for help. They
may be trying Debian/Linux for the first time and their experience may be
non-existant. It is difficult to see the "trees" if all you can see is
a "forest", etc.

There are some people who think "If the user doesn't have a clue, then
they shouldn't be using Debian." I can see both sides as I know a couple
of computer users who are thinking of trying Linux but are skeptical of
taking the leap and who I know would have no trouble once they "got into
it." In fact, once they "got into it" would most likely start
contributing.

If they are trying it for the first time, problems executing the
commands they are given could sway them to ditch it entirely?

-- 
"Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet."
   -- Napoleon Bonaparte