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Date:      Wed, 22 Nov 2023 05:40:53 +0000
From:      0x1eef <0x1eef@protonmail.com>
To:        iio7@tutanota.com
Cc:        Freebsd Questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>
Subject:   Re: I am sick and tired of the poor quality of documentation on FreeBSD
Message-ID:  <VvmLnw_lTuQ8TK6UANr2DC_OlTfzE9PUDEK3BY7KS-V1QLBGbCB8KwssYRU6EWlfYO3waPIweuEDQFeyUozd076HMFL1XZrktiuuQ0VM3EU=@protonmail.com>
In-Reply-To: <Njni9Or--3-9@tutanota.com>
References:  <NjnQuB8--R-9@tutanota.com> <20231121203038.9484f62455034022a4689468@sohara.org> <Njnh15S--7-9@tutanota.com> <Njni9Or--3-9@tutanota.com>

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On Tuesday, November 21st, 2023 at 6:10 PM, iio7@tutanota.com <iio7@tutanot=
a.com> wrote:


>=20
>=20
> > Nov 21, 2023, 21:30 by steve@sohara.org:
> >=20
> > > You did of course read the release notes right ? The rather good
> > > documentation provided by the FreeBSD project for each new release.
> > > Specifically this section that tells you exactly what to do and why.
> > >=20
> > > https://www.freebsd.org/releases/14.0R/relnotes/#upgrade
> > >=20
> > > Documentation is only useful if you read it! BEFORE you do things.
> > >=20
> > > > Something like this doesn't help!
> > > > Pool 'zroot' has the bootfs property set, you might need to update =
the
> > > > boot code. See gptzfsboot(8) and loader.efi(8) for details.
> > >=20
> > > It's a warning not documentation, heeding it could have saved you
> > > much trouble.
> > >=20
> > > > I might need to update the boot code!? WTF does that even mean?
> > >=20
> > > It seems pretty clear that you should make sure you understand it
> > > and do what is necessary before you reboot. The boot code is (as the =
name
> > > implies) the code used to boot the system which has to be able to rea=
d the
> > > filesystem containing the OS, which it can't if that filesystem has b=
een
> > > updated with features that the existing boot code does not support.
> > >=20
> > > > I never touched any boot code during installation so I don't even k=
now
> > > > what that is! And reading those man pages did NOT help me in any wa=
y.
> > >=20
> > > If you had read the release notes you would know what to do, and
> > > surely the name "boot code" is sufficiently descriptive as to what it=
 is.
> > >=20
> > > > So now I got a box that's borked with this beautiful message after
> > > > updating the zroot pool:
> > >=20
> > > AND rebooting without updating the boot code right ?
> > >=20
> > > > ZFS: unsupported feature: com.delphix:head_errlog
> > > > ZFS: pool zroot is not supported
> > > > Can't find /boot/zfsloader
> > > > Can't find /boot/loader
> > > > Can't find /boot/kernel/kernel
> > >=20
> > > Now you're going to need this article in the forums which a search
> > > would have found for you in a few seconds:
> > >=20
> > > https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/upgrade-14-relase-root-on-zfs-rebo=
ot-before-update-boot-code-and-stuck-at-efi-shell.91035/
> > >=20
> > > You might want to thank T-Aoki and note the rather more polite way
> > > someone else who got themselves into this mess asked for help.
>=20
>=20
> The release engineering and related documentation suck as usual. Polite m=
y ass. I have had it.
>=20
> I have been on FreeBSD for more than 20 years and always have to deal wit=
h shitload of problems on this operating system ONLY due to the lack of doc=
umentation.
>=20
> I read the man pages, I read the forum post, which doesn't help shit when=
 the next crap you run into is this:
>=20
> ZFS: unsupported feature: com.klarasystems:vdev_zaps_vs
>=20
> Nothing should break this bad during a simple upgrade and then have the g=
uy responsible for the documentation to make a fucking blog post about the =
missing documentation on the website:
>=20
> https://www.daemonology.net/blog/2023-11-21-late-breaking-FreeBSD-14-brea=
kage.html
>=20
> "but there are a few last-minute issues which deserve to bedocumented =
=E2=80=94 probably somewhere on the FreeBSD website, but I canpost to my bl=
og much faster and hopefully we'll get these onto the FreeBSDwebsite later.=
"
>=20
> Oh, and let's not forget this one:
>=20
> "stand: Fix oversight in updating OpenZFS: Add com.klarasystems:vdev_zaps=
_v2com.klarasystems:vdev_zaps_v2 is a new feature that the last OpenZFSimpo=
rt brought in. It needs to be on the list of supported features, butthat up=
date didn't happen so I woke up to a mailbox with multiplecomplaints."
>=20
> Thank you very much! Amazing work.

I can understand your frustration. But at the same time, if you're angry,=
=20
wait until that passes, and then send an email. FreeBSD does not charge=20
you anything to use their operating system, a lot of people contribute=20
in their free time, and mistakes can happen.=20

As far as documentation goes, the various FreeBSD handbooks are superb (to =
me),
while the Arch Wiki doesn't really do it for me. It can be different stroke=
s for
different folks. 



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