Hi all, Akemi and I have recently been drafting a few posts for a new forum subsection (Readme First & FAQs) to aid new forums members in getting help. One thing we have noticed is that there are two FAQ repositories, one on the main site and one on the Wiki. Main site FAQs: http://www.centos.org/modules/smartfaq/ Presumably it would be preferable if there was just one, and as the main site FAQs seem old, plus Akemi and I both have edit rights to the Wiki, we would propose to add missing content contained in the main site FAQs onto the Wiki page as necessary making this the most complete FAQ repository. Does anyone have any thoughts or objections to this? Regards, Ned
Ned, Ned Slider wrote: > Presumably it would be preferable if there was just one, and as the main > site FAQs seem old, plus Akemi and I both have edit rights to the Wiki, > we would propose to add missing content contained in the main site FAQs > onto the Wiki page as necessary making this the most complete FAQ > repository. Sounds like a good idea. Perhaps an expansion of the GettingHelp wiki page is called for - and overdue. So a general 'ask a sensible question, get a sensible reply' document would be very cool to have. Thanks for taking this effort up. -- Karanbir Singh : http://www.karan.org/ : 2522219@icq
Karanbir Singh wrote: > Ned, > > Ned Slider wrote: >> Presumably it would be preferable if there was just one, and as the >> main site FAQs seem old, plus Akemi and I both have edit rights to the >> Wiki, we would propose to add missing content contained in the main >> site FAQs onto the Wiki page as necessary making this the most >> complete FAQ repository. > > Sounds like a good idea. Perhaps an expansion of the GettingHelp wiki > page is called for - and overdue. So a general 'ask a sensible question, > get a sensible reply' document would be very cool to have. > > Thanks for taking this effort up. > Good idea - I was trying to think where that content would logically sit on the Wiki.
On Sat, 17 May 2008, Ned Slider wrote: > Karanbir Singh wrote: > >> Ned Slider wrote: >>> Presumably it would be preferable if there was just one, and as the main >>> site FAQs seem old, plus Akemi and I both have edit rights to the Wiki, we >>> would propose to add missing content contained in the main site FAQs onto >>> the Wiki page as necessary making this the most complete FAQ repository. >> >> Sounds like a good idea. Perhaps an expansion of the GettingHelp wiki page >> is called for - and overdue. So a general 'ask a sensible question, get a >> sensible reply' document would be very cool to have. >> >> Thanks for taking this effort up. > > Good idea - I was trying to think where that content would logically sit on > the Wiki. Hey Ned, I proposed to reorganise the FAQ as well before. Merging the website with the wiki FAQ is very important. http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-docs/2008-March/001097.html http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-docs/2008-March/001098.html The thread already discusses some ideas, but we never got to it. I am happy to assist with answering some of those questions. In general I think answers should be as short as possible, sometimes requiring to split a question in multiple questions. -- -- dag wieers, dag@centos.org, http://dag.wieers.com/ -- [Any errors in spelling, tact or fact are transmission errors]
Dag Wieers wrote: > > Hey Ned, > Hi Dag, > I proposed to reorganise the FAQ as well before. Merging the website > with the wiki FAQ is very important. > That was my primary concern here. We were doing some work over on the forums and felt it confusing having two separate FAQs. > http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-docs/2008-March/001097.html > http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-docs/2008-March/001098.html > Thanks for the references. > The thread already discusses some ideas, but we never got to it. I am > happy to assist with answering some of those questions. > > In general I think answers should be as short as possible, sometimes > requiring to split a question in multiple questions. > ...or link to Tips$Tricks or HowTo pages if they have been covered in more detail there. I'm happy to partake in a cut and paste exercise to get missing content from the main site FAQs onto the Wiki FAQs. Once we have a unified repository, maybe then we can look at any necessary restructuring. I just didn't want to go ahead without discussing it here first, not being overly familiar with the history and/or future plans :)
On Sat, May 17, 2008 at 9:13 PM, Karanbir Singh <mail-lists@karan.org> wrote: > Ned Slider wrote: >> >> Presumably it would be preferable if there was just one, and as the main >> site FAQs seem old, plus Akemi and I both have edit rights to the Wiki, we >> would propose to add missing content contained in the main site FAQs onto >> the Wiki page as necessary making this the most complete FAQ repository. > > Sounds like a good idea. +1 -- Daniel
Ned Slider wrote: > Hi all, > > Akemi and I have recently been drafting a few posts for a new forum > subsection (Readme First & FAQs) to aid new forums members in getting help. > Apologies, for those that have no idea what I'm talking about because they can't see it, I'll get a temp copy up on the Wiki in a bit :) Ned
Ned Slider wrote: > Ned Slider wrote: >> Hi all, >> >> Akemi and I have recently been drafting a few posts for a new forum >> subsection (Readme First & FAQs) to aid new forums members in getting >> help. >> > > Apologies, for those that have no idea what I'm talking about because > they can't see it, I'll get a temp copy up on the Wiki in a bit :) > > Ned Rather posting them to the Wiki, Ill copy the content here is that's OK. Here's the first post, entitled "Where to Find Answers". ------------------------------- Help may be obtained at the following locations: *1. CentOS help channels:* Forums: That's where you are now. Please also read the other documents in this section. Mailing lists: The CentOS *discussion and information* list is a general purpose communication list for CentOS and is appropriate for asking questions relating to CentOS. Wiki: The Wiki has sections containing howtos, FAQs and tips and tricks. The answers to many questions may be found here and the Wiki has a search feature to help you find them. IRC: You may ask your question on the #centos IRC channel. FAQs: There are FAQ sections on the main site and Wiki Documentation: CentOS is provided with extensive documentation, so please read it. *2. Use the application's help/documentation system* Most all Linux applications come with built in help or documentation. *Help menu:* Most all GUI applications have a help menu. *Man pages:* At the console, you can view a manual page by doing 'man <command>'. For example, 'man bash' will access the manual page for bash. KDE users may also view man pages in konqueror by typing man:bash, for example, in the location bar. *Info pages:* At the console, you can view an information page by doing 'info <command>'. For example, 'info bash' will access the information page for bash. It should be noted, that for the new Linux user, man pages and other built in help may at first seem quite obscure and/or cryptic. In many instances, these man pages were written by programmers for programmers, but they often contain the answer you seek. *3. Searching* It is more than likely that your question has been asked, and answered, before so please search the above repositories of information before asking. Searching on Google is another highly effective way to obtain answers. *4. Books* Some books for CentOS users recommended by community members (note: not officially endorsed by the CentOS project). Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux Bible, Christopher Negus (pub: Wiley). A good reference for both new and more experienced users.
Ned Slider wrote: > Ned Slider wrote: >> Hi all, >> >> Akemi and I have recently been drafting a few posts for a new forum >> subsection (Readme First & FAQs) to aid new forums members in getting >> help. >> > > Apologies, for those that have no idea what I'm talking about because > they can't see it, I'll get a temp copy up on the Wiki in a bit :) > ...and here's the second post, entitled "Readme First". ----------------------------------------- Welcome to CentOS, and the CentOS forums. Before posting a question to these forums, we would ask that you take the time to read this post. Please also read the "Where to Find Answers" post. This information is provided to help you get answers to your questions more quickly. Everyone who provides answers are volunteers and their time is valuable. Following the guidelines below will help them make the best use of that time to aid as many as possible including, of course, you. 1. Post your question to the correct forum This may seem obvious but please try to ensure you post your question to the correct forum and in the correct section (eg, for CentOS 3, 4 or 5 etc). If you are unsure in which forum your question belongs, please do *NOT* double post in multiple forums. Most of us read ALL the forums so we will see your question. Double posting will result in 1) you being asked not to double post as opposed to being provided with an answer and 2) multiples posts being removed by a moderator. 2. Use a descriptive title for your thread Firstly, post your own thread - *do not hijack someone else's thread*, even if you think your question is related. You may post a link to any related threads that you feel are appropriate. Use a descriptive title for your thread. This is your one chance to advertise what it is you require help with and persuade people to actually read and potentially answer your question. Do not SHOUT and your question is *not* urgent (at least not to anyone else). Please do not use txt speak or exclamation marks (!!!!). Bad example: Urgent: pls hlp, can't get it to work!!!!!! This tells us nothing other than it's urgent to you and that something isn't working. It is unlikely to even attract views, let alone answers. If you can't get your title right, what hope do we have that you've actually asked a coherent question in such a way that we may be able to help. Better example: Installed CentOS 5, need help getting GUI to automatically start (Nvidia GF4 MX 440). Now we know what you've done and those who have dealt with Nvidia cards will know that it's an issue where they can possibly help. (This also holds for other hardware such as wireless and other ethernet cards. Someone might ignore a subject of Wireless doesn't work but answer a post of Atheros AR5007EG card not working if they've had experience dealing with that particular card.) 3. Composing your question Again, do not SHOUT and your question is *not* urgent (at least not to anyone else). Please do not use txt speak and no excessive exclamation marks. Do use good spelling, grammar and punctuation, and split your post up as appropriate into separate paragraphs. We acknowledge that although English is the preferred language of the forums, it is not everyone's first or native language. You do not need to apologize if English is not your native language, just do the best that you can to clearly and concisely describe your problem. Before posting your question, first think about what your question is. If you don't know what your question is and how to articulate it, it is highly unlikely anyone else will be able to provide a reply. We don't have crystal balls & we can't read minds and make sure you actually ask a question. Bad example: Q: My nic doesn't work! A: That's a shame, but thank you for sharing it with us. Did you have a question? Better example: Q: My nic isn't detected after a default installation of CentOS 5. Please could anyone assist me in getting it working? Don't ask questions that can be answered with yes or no, unless you want a yes or no answer, as that's what you'll most likely get. Bad example: Q: I can't get Foo to work. Has anyone else managed to get this working? A: Yes. 4. Ask realistic questions Saying you're totally new to Linux and asking how to set up a domain server to authenticate users, provide roaming profiles, file sharing and email services with spam and virus filtering to replace your current server provided by some other company demonstrates totally unrealistic expectations on your behalf. No one is going to be able to help you, as this is likely to be a long term project and not something you are going to achieve over the weekend by asking a couple of questions on a forum. 5. Provide the relevant information Research your question or problem. You may find an answer is already provided. Demonstrating that you have researched your question by describing what you have previously done to try to resolve your problem is more likely to persuade a volunteer to help you than if you sit back and expect the answer to land on your plate. Provide as much useful information as possible to assist others in helping you solve your problem. We don't know what hardware/software you are running, or how you have configured your system unless you tell us. We also can not guess at what error message you may have received. If you have a hardware-related problem, please provide information about your hardware. We can not help answer questions like "help, my nic isn't working" without knowing what nic you have and what attempts you have made to configure it. Use commands such as lspci, lsmod, lsusb or dmidecode to gather information about your hardware and provide that in your post. If you have a software-related question, please provide as much relevant information about your configuration as possible. Provide the version numbers of any software you are using, post the configuration file for the package you are having problems with and check your logs for relevant errors, and post these too (only the relevant errors please, not the whole log file). If your question relates in any way to the kernel, please show us what kernel(s) you have installed and running by providing the output from the following commands: uname -a rpm -qa kernel\* | sort This will help to speed up the process of getting your problem resolved and is likely the first information you will be asked for if you haven't provided it. 6. What to do if no one answers Please wait for at least 24 hours. The volunteers on this forum live all over the world. If it's day time where you live, it's going to be night time somewhere else and the person able to answer your question may be sleeping, so give everyone a chance to read your question. If after 24 hours you haven't received any answers, then you may bump your thread by posting more information. By more information, we mean what you have tried during the last 24 hours to fix the problem. You have been trying to fix your problem, haven't you and not just waiting for someone else to fix it for you? 7. What to do once you have an answer It would be nice to thank the member(s) who helped you. We are all the more inclined to help those who take the time to acknowledge the help they have received. Provide feedback as to what the solution was. This will help the next person with the same problem to identify the solution and so share this knowledge with others. Congratulations, now you have an answer to your problem, you have gained some valuable knowledge that, hopefully, you'll be willing to share when another Community member asks a similar question. Before you know it, you will be one of the people answering some of the questions, not just asking them. This is how a community works, by giving a little back occasionally. So once you have an answer we hope you'll stay around and become part of the Community.
-----Original Message----- From: centos-docs-bounces@centos.org [mailto:centos-docs-bounces@centos.org] On Behalf Of Ned Slider Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2008 7:30 PM To: Mail list for wiki articles Subject: Re: [CentOS-docs] FAQs ------------------------------------------ Sounds great John Stanley I've noticed that several johns have popped up lately :-(