Date: Tue, 23 Jun 1998 18:25:39 -0700 From: Tim Gerchmez <fewtch@serv.net> To: David Wolfskill <dhw@whistle.com> Cc: freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Newbies - "Handle me with care?" Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.19980623182539.007faa50@mx.serv.net> In-Reply-To: <199806221826.LAA29227@pau-amma.whistle.com>
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At 11:26 AM 6/22/98 -0700, you wrote: >I think it's a false dichotomy. > >Folks who are experimenting or tinkering for its own sake should >certainly feel free to do anything they want to/with their systems -- >but if they're to do anything more useful than dabbling with Legos or >making sand-castles, it would be appropriate for them to learn about the >systems somewhat first. A good way to do this is by reading the >documentation that's available -- I can appreciate your point of view on this, but personally I've always gotten more out of just jumping in and playing around than by reading documentation. I think this is a personal thing, and different people learn better in different ways. >Folks who are building systems that will be used by others to do useful >or important work should be a bit more methodical -- as should folks who >actually hope to learn something from what they experience. Sure, but a newbie won't likely be doing anything terribly important with their system and won't likely be installing BSD for others who need solid systems... so why be methodical? >Please note that one reason for learning about the experiences of others >is so one may manage to avoid repeating others' mistakes. It's very difficult for many people to "learn" from the mistakes of others. Most people I know have to make the mistake themselves before they really get it - otherwise, it's a very shallow and easily forgotten lesson. >Different folks have different backgrounds, strengths, and weaknesses. This I agree with completely. >I would *think* that the sole "requirement" to be considered an >appropriate target (hmmmm...) for a list called "freebsd-newbies" would >be lack of familiarity with the FreeBSD variant of UNIX (or an interest >in the trials & tribulations of those who are thus deprived of >experience). I'm certainly willing to be convinced otherwise. You won't be from me, as I agree with you. In fact, someone might have 20 years of experience with Linux or a commercial Unix and just starting with FreeBSD, and appropriately be called a FreeBSD newbie. Good points, thanks. I guess the way people should approach learning BSD depends greatly on their experience in other areas (hardware, other OS's, etc). -- My web site starts at http://www.serv.net/~fewtch/index.html - lots of goodies for everyone, have a look if you have the time. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-newbies" in the body of the message
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