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diff --git a/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/article.sgml b/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/article.sgml new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..e9d6ecdcbe --- /dev/null +++ b/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/article.sgml @@ -0,0 +1,627 @@ +<!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//FreeBSD//DTD DocBook V4.1-Based Extension//EN" [ +<!ENTITY % articles.ent PUBLIC "-//FreeBSD//ENTITIES DocBook FreeBSD Articles Entity Set//EN"> +%articles.ent; +]> + +<article> + <articleinfo> + <title>How to get best results from the FreeBSD-questions mailing + list</title> + + <author> + <firstname>Greg</firstname> + <surname>Lehey</surname> + + <affiliation> + <address><email>grog@FreeBSD.org</email></address> + </affiliation> + </author> + + <pubdate>$FreeBSD$</pubdate> + + <legalnotice id="trademarks" role="trademarks"> + &tm-attrib.freebsd; + &tm-attrib.microsoft; + &tm-attrib.netscape; + &tm-attrib.opengroup; + &tm-attrib.qualcomm; + &tm-attrib.general; + </legalnotice> + + <abstract> + <para>This document provides useful information for people looking to + prepare an e-mail to the FreeBSD-questions mailing list. Advice and + hints are given that will maximize the chance that the reader will + receive useful replies.</para> + + <para>This document is regularly posted to the FreeBSD-questions mailing + list.</para> + </abstract> + </articleinfo> + + <sect1> + <title id="Introduction">Introduction</title> + + <para><literal>FreeBSD-questions</literal> is a mailing list maintained by + the FreeBSD project to help people who have questions about the normal + use of FreeBSD. Another group, <literal>FreeBSD-hackers</literal>, + discusses more advanced questions such as future development + work.</para> + + <note> + <para>The term <quote>hacker</quote> has nothing to do with breaking + into other people's computers. The correct term for the latter + activity is <quote>cracker</quote>, but the popular press has not found + out yet. The FreeBSD hackers disapprove strongly of cracking + security, and have nothing to do with it. For a longer description of + hackers, see Eric Raymond's <ulink + url="http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html">How To Become + A Hacker</ulink></para> + </note> + + <para>This is a regular posting aimed to help both those seeking advice + from FreeBSD-questions (the <quote>newcomers</quote>), and also those + who answer the questions (the <quote>hackers</quote>).</para> + + <para>Inevitably there is some friction, which stems from the different + viewpoints of the two groups. The newcomers accuse the hackers of being + arrogant, stuck-up, and unhelpful, while the hackers accuse the + newcomers of being stupid, unable to read plain English, and expecting + everything to be handed to them on a silver platter. Of course, there is + an element of truth in both these claims, but for the most part these + viewpoints come from a sense of frustration.</para> + + <para>In this document, I would like to do something to relieve this + frustration and help everybody get better results from + FreeBSD-questions. In the following section, I recommend how to submit + a question; after that, we will look at how to answer one.</para> + </sect1> + + <sect1> + <title id="subscribe">How to subscribe to FreeBSD-questions</title> + + <para>FreeBSD-questions is a mailing list, so you need mail access. Point + your WWW browser to the <ulink url="&a.questions.url;">information page of the FreeBSD-questions mailing list</ulink>. + In the section titled <quote>Subscribing to freebsd-questions</quote> fill + in the <quote>Your email address</quote> field; the other fields are optional. + </para> + + <note> + <para>The password fields in the subscription form provide only mild + security, but should prevent others from messing with your + subscription. <emphasis>Do not use a valuable password</emphasis> as + it will occasionally be emailed back to you in cleartext.</para> + </note> + + <para>You will receive a confirmation message from + <application>mailman</application>; follow the included instructions + to complete your subscription.</para> + + <para>Finally, when you get the <quote>Welcome</quote> message from + <application>mailman</application> telling you the details of the list + and subscription area password, <emphasis>please save it</emphasis>. + If you ever should want to leave the list, you will need the information + there. See the next section for more details.</para> + </sect1> + + <sect1> + <title id="unsubscribe">How to unsubscribe from FreeBSD-questions</title> + + <para>When you subscribed to FreeBSD-questions, you got a welcome message + from <application>mailman</application>. In this message, amongst + other things, it told you how to unsubscribe. Here is a typical + message:</para> + + <literallayout class="monospaced">Welcome to the freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list! + +To post to this list, send your email to: + + freebsd-questions@freebsd.org + +General information about the mailing list is at: + + http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions + +If you ever want to unsubscribe or change your options (e.g., switch to +or from digest mode, change your password, etc.), visit your +subscription page at: + +http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/options/freebsd-questions/grog%40lemsi.de + +You can also make such adjustments via email by sending a message to: + + freebsd-questions-request@freebsd.org + +with the word `help' in the subject or body (don't include the +quotes), and you will get back a message with instructions. + +You must know your password to change your options (including changing +the password, itself) or to unsubscribe. It is: + + 12345 + +Normally, Mailman will remind you of your freebsd.org mailing list +passwords once every month, although you can disable this if you +prefer. This reminder will also include instructions on how to +unsubscribe or change your account options. There is also a button on +your options page that will email your current password to you.</literallayout> + + <para>From the URL specified in your <quote>Welcome</quote> message you + may visit the <quote>Account management page</quote> and enter a request + to <quote>Unsubscribe</quote> you from FreeBSD-questions mailing + list.</para> + + <para>A confirmation message will be sent to you from + <application>mailman</application>; follow the included instructions + to finish unsubscribing.</para> + + <para>If you have done this, and you still can not figure out what + is going on, send a message to + <email>freebsd-questions-request@FreeBSD.org</email>, and they will + sort things out for you. <emphasis>Do not</emphasis> send a message to + FreeBSD-questions: they can not help you.</para> + </sect1> + + <sect1> + <title id="askwho">Should I ask <literal>-questions</literal> or + <literal>-hackers</literal>?</title> + + <para>Two mailing lists handle general questions about FreeBSD, + <literal>FreeBSD-questions</literal> and + <literal>FreeBSD-hackers</literal>. In some cases, it is not really + clear which group you should ask. The following criteria should help + for 99% of all questions, however:</para> + + <orderedlist> + <listitem> + <para>If the question is of a general nature, ask + <literal>FreeBSD-questions</literal>. Examples might be questions + about installing FreeBSD or the use of a particular &unix; + utility.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>If you think the question relates to a bug, but you are not sure, + or you do not know how to look for it, send the message to + <literal>FreeBSD-questions</literal>.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>If the question relates to a bug, and you are + <emphasis>sure</emphasis> that it is a bug (for example, you can + pinpoint the place in the code where it happens, and you maybe have + a fix), then send the message to + <literal>FreeBSD-hackers</literal>.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>If the question relates to enhancements to FreeBSD, and you + can make suggestions about how to implement them, then send the + message to <literal>FreeBSD-hackers</literal>.</para> + </listitem> + </orderedlist> + + <para>There are also a number of other specialized mailing lists, for + example <literal>FreeBSD-isp</literal>, which caters to the interests of + ISPs (Internet Service Providers) who run FreeBSD. If you happen to be + an ISP, this does not mean you should automatically send your questions + to <literal>FreeBSD-isp</literal>. The criteria above still apply, and + it is in your interest to stick to them, since you are more likely to get + good results that way.</para> + </sect1> + + <sect1> + <title id="before">Before submitting a question</title> + + <para>You can (and should) do some things yourself before asking a question + on one of the mailing lists:</para> + + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para>Try solving the problem on your own. If you post a question which + shows that you have tried to solve the problem, your question will + generally attract more positive attention from people reading it. + Trying to solve the problem yourself will also enhance your understanding + of FreeBSD, and will eventually let you use your knowledge to help others + by answering questions posted to the mailing lists. + </para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Read the manual pages, and the FreeBSD documentation (either + installed in <filename>/usr/doc</filename> or accessible via WWW at + <ulink url="http://www.FreeBSD.org"></ulink>), especially the + <ulink url="&url.books.handbook;/index.html">handbook</ulink> + and the <ulink url="&url.books.faq;/index.html">FAQ</ulink>. + </para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Browse and/or search the archives for the mailing list, to see if your + question or a similar one has been asked (and possibly answered) on the + list. You can browse and/or search the mailing list archives + at <ulink url="http://www.FreeBSD.org/mail"></ulink> + and <ulink url="http://www.FreeBSD.org/search/search.html#mailinglists"></ulink> + respectively. This can be done at other WWW sites as well, for example + at <ulink url="http://marc.theaimsgroup.com"></ulink>. + </para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Use a search engine such as <ulink url="http://www.google.com">Google</ulink> + or <ulink url="http://www.yahoo.com">Yahoo</ulink> to find answers to your question. + Google even has a <ulink + url="http://www.google.com/bsd">BSD-specific search interface</ulink>. + </para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + </sect1> + + <sect1> + <title id="submit">How to submit a question</title> + + <para>When submitting a question to FreeBSD-questions, consider the + following points:</para> + + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para>Remember that nobody gets paid for answering a FreeBSD + question. They do it of their own free will. You can influence this + free will positively by submitting a well-formulated question + supplying as much relevant information as possible. You can + influence this free will negatively by submitting an incomplete, + illegible, or rude question. It is perfectly possible to send a + message to FreeBSD-questions and not get an answer even if you + follow these rules. It is much more possible to not get an answer if + you do not. In the rest of this document, we will look at how to get + the most out of your question to FreeBSD-questions.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Not everybody who answers FreeBSD questions reads every message: + they look at the subject line and decide whether it interests them. + Clearly, it is in your interest to specify a subject. <quote>FreeBSD + problem</quote> or <quote>Help</quote> are not enough. If you provide no subject at + all, many people will not bother reading it. If your subject is not + specific enough, the people who can answer it may not read + it.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Format your message so that it is legible, and + PLEASE DO NOT SHOUT!!!!!. We appreciate that a lot of people do not + speak English as their first language, and we try to make + allowances for that, but it is really painful to try to read a + message written full of typos or without any line breaks.</para> + + <para>Do not underestimate the effect that a poorly formatted mail + message has, not just on the FreeBSD-questions mailing list. + Your mail message is all people see of you, and if it is poorly + formatted, one line per paragraph, badly spelt, or full of + errors, it will give people a poor impression of you.</para> + + <para>A lot of badly formatted messages come from + <ulink url="http://www.lemis.com/email.html">bad mailers or badly + configured mailers</ulink>. The following mailers are known to + send out badly formatted messages without you finding out about + them:</para> + + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para>cc:Mail</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>&eudora;</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>exmh</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>µsoft; Exchange</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>µsoft; Internet Mail</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>µsoft; &outlook;</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>&netscape;</para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + + <para>As you can see, the mailers in the Microsoft world are frequent + offenders. If at all possible, use a &unix; mailer. If you must use a + mailer under Microsoft environments, make sure it is set up + correctly. Try not to use <acronym>MIME</acronym>: a lot of people + use mailers which do not get on very well with + <acronym>MIME</acronym>.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Make sure your time and time zone are set correctly. This may + seem a little silly, since your message still gets there, but many + of the people you are trying to reach get several hundred messages a + day. They frequently sort the incoming messages by subject and by + date, and if your message does not come before the first answer, they + may assume they missed it and not bother to look.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Do not include unrelated questions in the same message. Firstly, + a long message tends to scare people off, and secondly, it is more + difficult to get all the people who can answer all the questions to + read the message.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Specify as much information as possible. This is a difficult + area, and we need to expand on what information you need to submit, + but here is a start:</para> + + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para>In nearly every case, it is important to know the version of + FreeBSD you are running. This is particularly the case for + FreeBSD-CURRENT, where you should also specify the date of the + sources, though of course you should not be sending questions + about -CURRENT to FreeBSD-questions.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem><para>With any problem which <emphasis>could</emphasis> be + hardware related, tell us about your hardware. In case of + doubt, assume it is possible that it is hardware. What kind of + CPU are you using? How fast? What motherboard? How much + memory? What peripherals?</para> + + <para>There is a judgement call here, of course, but the output of + the &man.dmesg.8; command can frequently be very useful, since it + tells not just what hardware you are running, but what version of + FreeBSD as well.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>If you get error messages, do not say <quote>I get error + messages</quote>, say (for example) <quote>I get the error + message 'No route to host'</quote>.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>If your system panics, do not say <quote>My system + panicked</quote>, say (for example) <quote>my system panicked + with the message 'free vnode isn't'</quote>.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>If you have difficulty installing FreeBSD, please tell us + what hardware you have. In particular, it is important to know + the IRQs and I/O addresses of the boards installed in your + machine.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>If you have difficulty getting PPP to run, describe the + configuration. Which version of PPP do you use? What kind of + authentication do you have? Do you have a static or dynamic IP + address? What kind of messages do you get in the log + file?</para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>A lot of the information you need to supply is the output of + programs, such as &man.dmesg.8;, or console messages, which usually + appear in <filename>/var/log/messages</filename>. Do not try to copy + this information by typing it in again; it is a real pain, and you are + bound to make a mistake. To send log file contents, either make a + copy of the file and use an editor to trim the information to what + is relevant, or cut and paste into your message. For the output of + programs like &man.dmesg.8;, redirect the output to a file and + include that. For example,</para> + + <screen>&prompt.user; <userinput>dmesg > /tmp/dmesg.out</userinput></screen> + + <para>This redirects the information to the file + <filename>/tmp/dmesg.out</filename>.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>If you do all this, and you still do not get an answer, there + could be other reasons. For example, the problem is so complicated + that nobody knows the answer, or the person who does know the answer + was offline. If you do not get an answer after, say, a week, it + might help to re-send the message. If you do not get an answer to + your second message, though, you are probably not going to get one + from this forum. Resending the same message again and again will + only make you unpopular.</para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + + <para>To summarize, let's assume you know the answer to the following + question (yes, it is the same one in each case). + You choose which of these two questions you would be more prepared to + answer:</para> + + <example> + <title>Message 1</title> + + <literallayout class="monospaced">Subject: HELP!!?!?? +I just can't get hits damn silly FereBSD system to +workd, and Im really good at this tsuff, but I have never seen +anythign sho difficult to install, it jst wont work whatever I try +so why don't you guys tell me what I doing wrong.</literallayout> + </example> + + <example> + <title>Message 2</title> + + <literallayout class="monospaced">Subject: Problems installing FreeBSD + +I've just got the FreeBSD 2.1.5 CDROM from Walnut Creek, and I'm having a lot +of difficulty installing it. I have a 66 MHz 486 with 16 MB of +memory and an Adaptec 1540A SCSI board, a 1.2GB Quantum Fireball +disk and a Toshiba 3501XA CDROM drive. The installation works just +fine, but when I try to reboot the system, I get the message +<quote>Missing Operating System</quote>.</literallayout> + </example> + </sect1> + + <sect1> + <title id="followup">How to follow up to a question</title> + + <para>Often you will want to send in additional information to a question + you have already sent. The best way to do this is to reply to your + original message. This has three advantages:</para> + + <orderedlist> + <listitem> + <para>You include the original message text, so people will know what + you are talking about. Do not forget to trim unnecessary text out, + though.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>The text in the subject line stays the same (you did remember to + put one in, did you not?). Many mailers will sort messages by + subject. This helps group messages together.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>The message reference numbers in the header will refer to the + previous message. Some mailers, such as + <ulink url="http://www.mutt.org/">mutt</ulink>, can + <emphasis>thread</emphasis> messages, showing the exact + relationships between the messages.</para> + </listitem> + </orderedlist> + </sect1> + + <sect1> + <title id="answer">How to answer a question</title> + + + <para>Before you answer a question to FreeBSD-questions, consider:</para> + + <orderedlist> + <listitem> + <para>A lot of the points on submitting questions also apply to + answering questions. Read them.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Has somebody already answered the question? The easiest way to + check this is to sort your incoming mail by subject: then + (hopefully) you will see the question followed by any answers, all + together.</para> + + <para>If somebody has already answered it, it does not automatically + mean that you should not send another answer. But it makes sense to + read all the other answers first.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Do you have something to contribute beyond what has already been + said? In general, <quote>Yeah, me too</quote> answers do not help + much, although there are exceptions, like when somebody is + describing a problem he is having, and he does not know whether it is + his fault or whether there is something wrong with the hardware or + software. If you do send a <quote>me too</quote> answer, you should + also include any further relevant information.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Are you sure you understand the question? Very frequently, the + person who asks the question is confused or does not express himself + very well. Even with the best understanding of the system, it is + easy to send a reply which does not answer the question. This + does not help: you will leave the person who submitted the question + more frustrated or confused than ever. If nobody else answers, and + you are not too sure either, you can always ask for more + information.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Are you sure your answer is correct? + If not, wait a day or so. If nobody else comes up with a + better answer, you can still reply and say, for example, <quote>I + do not know if this is correct, but since nobody else has + replied, why don't you try replacing your ATAPI CDROM with + a frog?</quote>.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Unless there is a good reason to do otherwise, reply to the + sender and to FreeBSD-questions. Many people on the + FreeBSD-questions are <quote>lurkers</quote>: they learn by reading + messages sent and replied to by others. If you take a message which + is of general interest off the list, you are depriving these people + of their information. Be careful with group replies; lots of people + send messages with hundreds of CCs. If this is the case, be sure to + trim the Cc: lines appropriately.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Include relevant text from the original message. Trim it to the + minimum, but do not overdo it. It should still be possible for + somebody who did not read the original message to understand what + you are talking about.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Use some technique to identify which text came from the original + message, and which text you add. I personally find that prepending + <quote><literal>> </literal></quote> to the original message + works best. Leaving white space after the + <quote><literal>> </literal></quote> and leave empty lines + between your text and the original text both make the result more + readable.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Put your response in the correct place (after the text to which + it replies). It is very difficult to read a thread of responses + where each reply comes before the text to which it replies.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Most mailers change the subject line on a reply by prepending a + text such as <quote>Re: </quote>. If your mailer does not do it + automatically, you should do it manually.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>If the submitter did not abide by format conventions (lines too + long, inappropriate subject line), <emphasis>please</emphasis> fix + it. In the case of an incorrect subject line (such as + <quote>HELP!!??</quote>), change the subject line to (say) + <quote>Re: Difficulties with sync PPP (was: HELP!!??)</quote>. That + way other people trying to follow the thread will have less + difficulty following it.</para> + + <para>In such cases, it is appropriate to say what you did and why you + did it, but try not to be rude. If you find you can not answer + without being rude, do not answer.</para> + + <para>If you just want to reply to a message because of its bad + format, just reply to the submitter, not to the list. You can just + send him this message in reply, if you like.</para> + </listitem> + </orderedlist> + </sect1> +</article> + +<!-- + Local Variables: + mode: sgml + sgml-indent-data: t + sgml-omittag: nil + sgml-always-quote-attributes: t + End: +--> |