Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 07:52:00 +0000 (GMT) From: Rick Hamell <hamellr@heorot.1nova.com> To: Joe Warner <jswarner@uswest.net> Cc: freebsd-newbies@freebsd.org, freebsd-chat@freebsd.org Subject: Re: -newbies Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0010130733420.24921-100000@heorot.1nova.com> In-Reply-To: <39E86BC9.4FA97AC1@uswest.net>
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> Rick, do you think that all technical questions should be forbidden > from this list? IMHO, I think a logical approach would be to allow > certain questions, depending on their scope. For example, someone Not only to I think so, they ARE forbidden as stated in the First Aid Kit. > proclaims they are new to FreeBSD and wants to know how to list > the contents of a directory. A simple response would instruct them > to use the "ls" command and also suggest they take a look at "man ls". > I don't think there would be any risk of someone trashing their system > with the "ls" command. All other questions, of a higher technical scope, > could be politely directed to questions. Would this type of approach > be too difficult to manage? On this I happen to agree with you, sorta. I personally have no problems with anyone telling someone else to use the ls command, or similiar things. A real Newbie just won't know that. But again, I think it's technically off topic. > I have taken this approach in the past. If someone asks a simple question > and I'm 100% sure of the answer and am positive that my response won't > cause the person to inflict damage to their system, I answer their question > and also tell them where they can find more information. If the question > is something like, how to configure a firewall or DNS, I kindly direct them > to -questions and may include references to related publications and/or > other resources. That historically has been how a lot of people try to answer questions. The problem being is that somehow, somewhere Freebsd-newbies once got on a list as THE place to ask FreeBSD related questions. It sounds to me like it is still on this list. That is one of the reasons a name change would be a good idea. > Even though the thread (re: BSD Magazine (Advertiser Responses) that > I started on -newbies may have been appropriate, the length of this thread > became irritating for some and as a result, efforts were made to create a > separate list for this topic. BTW - I plan to withhold future information I > receive, re: this subject and only post info that is a lot more substantial. In my opinion, that thread happed just perfectly. It got moved when it got offtopic/irratating. Started out very much on topic for -newbies, and was really quite informative. I believe that since a newbie to the FreeBSD project can not contribute with coding and/or in questions (very well,) we should be dealing with advocacy and promotion issues. Heck, I carry a couple copies of the CDROM around in my car to give to people! :) > Maybe it would help if Sue's "FreeBSD Newbies First Aid Kit" was > posted more often? Maybe regular subscribers to this list, such as > myself, could take a more active role in moderating it? Maybe there > is a valid need for a name change for this list? Maybe all of the > above? Yes, we should all do this. We should all take a much more active role in managing newbie "affairs" :) And, the more I think about it, the more I believe a name change would help not just us, but the whole FreeBSD project also. I'm still pushing for something like newbie-issues rather then newbie-chat. I also believe that this list can once again serve as a valuable resource for the FreeBSD project in general and shouldn't be removed. But in it's current form I believe that it's hurting more then helping. > It sounds like, to me, that moderating this list has become a tough job > and maybe, if a consensus was reached among the current moderators > and regular subscribers, as to the content, there could be a team effort > to make things better for everyone? Yes, we also should try to get the -newbies Web Page updated... http://www.freebsd.org/projects/newbies. There is a link to it off the main page. Some of you may have also noticed my new signature... heorot.1nova.com/freebsd is a list of Newbie related links and help sites that I got tired of typing in all the time... :) (Which I'll be glad for any submissions/suggestions.) I would like to make it "the" site refered to on this group, instead of giving everyone four or five links to look at, they can bookmark just one. :) Rick ******************************************************************* Rick's FreeBSD Web page http://heorot.1nova.com/freebsd Ace Logan's Hardware Guide http://www.shatteredcrystal.net/hardware ***FreeBSD - The Power to Serve! http://www.freebsd.org To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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