Monthly FAQ for Debian-user mailing list (modified 20240102)
Debian-user is a mailing list provided for support for Debian users,
and to facilitate discussion on relevant topics.
A Debian resource - Codes of Conduct
====================================
* The list is a Debian communication forum hosted on Debian resources.
As such, it is subject to both the Debian mailing list Code of
Conduct and the main Debian Code of Conduct.
https://www.debian.org/MailingLists/#codeofconduct
https://www.debian.org/code_of_conduct
Guidelines for this list
========================
Some guidelines which may help explain how the list should work:
Language
========
* The language on this mailing list is English. There may be other
mailing lists that are language-specific, for example, debian-user-french
or debian-user-catalan.
* It is common for users to be redirected here from other lists, for example,
from debian-project. It is also common for people to be posting here when
English is not their primary language. Please be considerate.
Answering questions and contributing to discussions constructively
==================================================================
* This is a fairly busy mailing list but even so you may have to wait some
time for an answer - please be patient.
* Help and advice on this list is provided by volunteers in their own time.
It is common for there to be different opinions or answers provided.
* It is not necessary to answer every post on the mailing list.
* Be constructive in your responses. It may be that somebody else answers
a question before you - if so, you should not reply simply in order to
get the last word in, only reply if you can add useful information.
* Please try to stay on topic. Arguments for the sake of it are not
welcome here.
* Partisan political / religious / cultural arguments do not belong here
either. Debian's community is world wide; do not assume others will agree
with your views or need to read them on a Debian list.
Editing and answering mailing list posts
========================================
* It is helpful to write meaningful subject lines. If you change subject
or emphasis in mid-thread, please change the subject line on your email
accordingly so that this can be clearly seen.
For example: New question [WAS Old topic]
* It may also be useful for someone to post a summary email from time to
time to explain long threads.
* Before posting, it may be useful to check your post for spelling mistakes
and to scan it for redundancy, duplicate words and redundancy.
* Clear replies and a short mailing list thread are much easier to
read and follow than long threads.
* If you are replying to a post, please reply in-line if possible and cut
extra text that is not relevant to your point, showing that you have done.
so.
Private replies and responding to posts off-list
================================================
* Please post answers back to the list so others can benefit: private
conversations don't benefit people who may only be following
along on the list or reading the archives later.
* We're only human: you may want to respond to someone off-list
to make a point (or to wish them Happy Birthday / comment that you
haven't seen them for a long time). We're also a community and
the people you find on the list become familiar friends
BUT
* Posting outside the list can be unhelpful: bad behaviour outside the lists
can't easily be dealt with and will be invisible. You may inadvertently
leak personal information by posting a private reply back to the list.
If you do want to post outside the list for any reason - please make it
clear that you have done so at the top of the message. If someone replies
to you privately and you think that this should go back to the list - ask
them to post it back to the list and do not just post it on their behalf
without checking with them.
I can't see what I want here - help me!
=======================================
* It is often useful to look through the archives to see whether the issue
you wish to raise or a similar issue has been raised before by someone
else. The top level link to the archives of this list is at
https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/ organised by year, then month.
* Although there are only twenty or thirty regular contributors, there may
be a couple of thousand readers following the list in the background.
Nobody is a mind reader, nobody can sit beside you and see what you
see. Please help the rest of us by providing useful details if asked,
especially which version of Debian you are running.
Problem solving
===============
* If you hit problems with Debian, please don't blindly follow advice
that you find on the Internet. Please DO stop, note what you think
you've done and, if possible, take a note of the cirucmstances and
commands you have run that have got you to this point.
If you have been researching solutions, it may be useful to share
with the list what you understand of what you have read.
I'm not using Debian but ...
============================
* Strictly, discussions of other distributions are off-topic here.
Please note: advice on Linux distributions other than Debian will be
only our best guess - other distributions may do things very differently.
Any advice given accordingly may be inaccurate but is given in good faith.
FAQ topics
==========
* There is an FAQ on the Debian wiki derived from some questions asked on this
list at https://wiki.debian.org/FAQsFromDebianUser
This is a public list, archived in many places
==============================================
* One question that comes up on almost all Debian lists from time to time
is of the form:
"I have done something wrong / included personal details in an email.
Could you please delete my name / details / remove the mail"
Practically, this is impossible: the mailing lists are archived, potentially
cached by Google and so on.
Unfortunately, there is nothing much we can do to ensure that all copies
anywhere on the Internet are deleted. Asking to do this may only serve to
draw further attention - the so-called "Streisand effect"
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect
Problems and inappropriate behaviour?
====================================
Complaints about inappropriate behaviour should be referred to the
Debian Community Team <community@debian.org>.
Inappropriate behaviour on the list may lead to warnings: repeated bad
behaviour may lead to temporary or permanent bans for offenders.
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