Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 13:46:42 -0800 From: Kent Stewart <kstewart@urx.com> To: mij@osdn.com Cc: Seth <seth@psychotic.aberrant.org>, freebsd-doc@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Web page suggestion Message-ID: <3A89AB42.B5F0E207@urx.com> References: <20010213104922.A70178@psychotic.aberrant.org> <20010213125007.B375@guinness.osdn.com> <3A898E22.39A43C02@urx.com> <20010213145515.B1203@guinness.osdn.com>
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Jim Mock wrote: > > On Tue, 13 Feb 2001 at 11:42:26 -0800, Kent Stewart wrote: > > Jim Mock wrote: > > > On Tue, 13 Feb 2001 at 10:49:22 -0500, Seth wrote: > > > > This suggestion has probably been debated ad nauseum already, but > > > > I'd like to make it anyway on the off chance that nobody's ever > > > > heard it before :) > > > > > > > > One of the hardest things for people new to FreeBSD to do is > > > > locate the installation disks & instructions. This sounds strange > > > > to those of us who are familiar with the web site, but the images > > > > are three clicks away from the main page, and the links are > > > > embedded in stuff that the impatient would-be user won't want to > > > > read. I can't tell you the number of times I've pointed people to > > > > the freebsd.org web site and then had to hand-hold them through > > > > locating the floppies and imaging instructions. More than once, > > > > I've heard "if it's this much trouble to install, how hard is it > > > > going to be to USE?" > > > > > > If they think clicking through 3 links to get to is "too much > > > trouble" they shouldn't be using FreeBSD. If they can't be bothered > > > to click the very easily labeled links, they're surely not going to > > > bother reading any of the install docs and will have an installation > > > experience similar to trying to ram their head through a brick wall. > > > > Part of the problem is that when they get to the "Handbook Chapter on > > Obtaining FreeBSD", they are presented with Appendix A. To a newbie, > > Appendix A is a series of TLA's that are completely giberish until > > they have been using FreeBSD for a while. There isn't a chapter on > > obtaining FreeBSD and there also aren't any instructions. Using FTP to > > download an iso or the bin files would be a section by itself. The > > closest I have seen is Dan's web page at > > http://www.freebsddiary.org/read.html. I don't think a newbie can use > > CVS or CTM to install FreeBSD. So, you have a series of choices that > > don't make any sense and more than half of them don't apply. > > I think you're talking about a whole different situation here. I'm > talking about if you go to http://www.FreeBSD.org/ and look under the > "Easy to install" header, you'll see a link that says "these > directions". That takes you to the install chapter of the handbook, > which then takes you to the floppy download and creation. > > I'm guessing you're talking about the "Getting FreeBSD" link under > "Software" on the bar on the left side of the site. This should also > point to the handbook's install chapter which explains getting the > floppies. If no one disagrees, I'll change it to do so. Yes, that is the link I was talking about and the one I think people are getting lost on. Kent > > - jim > > -- > jim mock <mij@osdn.com> O|S|D|N open source development network > http://soupnazi.org/ http://osdn.com/ | jim@FreeBSD.org -- Kent Stewart Richland, WA mailto:kbstew99@hotmail.com http://kstewart.urx.com/kstewart/index.html FreeBSD News http://daily.daemonnews.org/ To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-doc" in the body of the message
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