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Re: Departing from linux-il list



On Tue, 27 Aug 1996, Ira Abramov wrote:

> Now: why flame? because people don't RTFM, they mostly don't even RTFF
> when they join the list! We are all entitled to ignore such posts, but
> then all the newbies will leave. We could also all throw RTFM at them,
> which will start to bore at some point, so we let Marc "flame" them a
> little. I do admit this one has blown somewhat out of proportions, but
> Moshe did through some unfriendly flames back even when we tried to show
> him it was all in good intentions.

I agree. When I was a Linux newbie, I just learned basic UNIX commands and
wanted to install my own box. So I bought a disk, and I spent around 3
hours!!! reading all the stuff on the distribution, before I chose a
boot/root pair and started installing. Then I read through every program
description I installed (I think it was slackware 2.2 and the color menus
were unstable).

Then after I got the hang of it, I erased my entire partition and
installed it again, this time setting a sane size for my swap partition!!!

Then bit by bit I started to compile stuff, install stuff, run Xwindows!
And never once cried for help, because the docs were there, or on the web.

The questions I asked started coming much later, when all I described
until now became a routine (I installed many linuces since then).

It is a matter of reading.

> The only reason I help people with flamable questions out sometimes is when
> I see kids that have to really fight the language of the docs, and that's
> about the only time I really disagree with Marc. On the Other hand, the
> law of the jungle says english non-speakers will have a hard time with
> computers anyway, so they should make an effort, and not only to please
> Marc, but to be able to move on to more interesting subjects and
> questions. 

As part of my job I install Linux to other people in here, and believe me,
language is an EXCUSE!!! people DON'T LIKE TO RTFM, and they like things
to be given to them on a silver plate. That's part of human nature. Most
humans, at least. They don't like to strain their eyes over technical
docs.

So I give it to them, because this is my job. But on a shared resource
like this mailing list, people are often bored to hear the same questions
over again. I think it is quite all-right to scare newbies off to RTFM or
experiment, or at least make them ask decent questions. Maybe some of them
will say - Hey, let's RTFM a little and see where it gets me - ant then
they'll REALLY be gurus.

> Linux is no OpSys for dummies, where the GatesMaster reigns, we hate dumb
> questions for good reasons.

Way on!

--------------------------------------------- ....- --.. ----. -.. --. .
            Arik Baratz, Regularus Studentus, iNTP, 4Z9DGE
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