From owner-freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG Thu Jun 24 04:30:48 2004 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-newbies@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6E7E416A4F3 for ; Thu, 24 Jun 2004 04:30:48 +0000 (GMT) Received: from avocet.mail.pas.earthlink.net (avocet.mail.pas.earthlink.net [207.217.120.50]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 525E243D1D for ; Thu, 24 Jun 2004 04:30:48 +0000 (GMT) (envelope-from rpratt1950@earthlink.net) Received: from user227.net977.fl.sprint-hsd.net ([69.34.142.227] helo=kt.weeble.com) by avocet.mail.pas.earthlink.net with smtp (Exim 3.33 #1) id 1BdLsp-0006in-00; Wed, 23 Jun 2004 21:30:43 -0700 Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 00:32:58 -0400 From: Randy Pratt To: Dave Vollenweider Message-Id: <20040624003258.66ba640f.rpratt1950@earthlink.net> In-Reply-To: <20040623215237.17bc2dec.metaridley@mchsi.com> References: <20040622094511.44cbae6f.metaridley@mchsi.com> <20040622190307.0420979d.rpratt1950@earthlink.net> <200406230329.58333.krsr@wp.pl> <20040623215237.17bc2dec.metaridley@mchsi.com> X-Mailer: Sylpheed version 0.9.12 (GTK+ 1.2.10; i386-portbld-freebsd4.10) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit cc: freebsd-newbies@freebsd.org Subject: Re: New and Fearful X-BeenThere: freebsd-newbies@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: Gathering place for new users List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 04:30:48 -0000 On Wed, 23 Jun 2004 21:52:37 -0500 Dave Vollenweider wrote: > I'm replying to Chris's message, but this one really goes out to all > of you who have responded. > > First of all, thanks. :) You seem like a friendly bunch, and if you > represent the FreeBSD community as a whole, then I think I'm going to > like it here. This isn't the main reason why I switched to FreeBSD, > of course, but every little thing adds up and this is definitely a > good thing. > > As for what I've done, first, I've taken Shannon's advice and > registered on freebsdforums.org (although now it seems to be > bsdforums.org) under the name Meta_Ridley. Second, as for my problem, > I'm having two problems solving it, neither of which I expect help on > in this list, of course. Third, I've been in the freebsd_users > community on LiveJournal for quite sometime under the name superpico, > although I haven't been satisfied with the answers I've gotten there > and I've usually been able to solve the problems I've asked about in > thet community. I think you're best bet for reliable, accurate information is the FreeBSD mailing lists. They are the only "official" channel of support. The responses to questions on the mailing lists are read by many people and corrected if the advice given is incomplete or inaccurate. This is the "peer review" process. Often, you'll find the developers/committers participating in the process so you can't get much closer to the source than that. I'm not saying that information from other sites isn't helpful but I often wonder about the quality since it isn't typically undergoing a review process. This is why I encourage you to use the FreeBSD documentation and mailing lists as your primary means of support. I'm also of the opinion that casual reading of the mailing lists is time well spent. It keeps you up-to-date on problems that people are having and solutions that are found. You don't have to subscribe to read the lists, you can access them online at: http://docs.freebsd.org/mail/current/ If you go to the parent directory of that link, you can access the archives which go back years although its much easier to search them with: http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&group=mailing.freebsd The archives are a gold mine of information. Chances are, that if you have a problem, someone else has had it before. > Even with all this, though, I'm still glad there's someplace where we > newbies can gather and talk. I like the idea of being able to help > each other out, both morally and technically. I first installed FreeBSD 2.2.5 on Friday, February 27, 1998, at 2:04 PM MST so I've been around awhile but not a day goes by that I don't learn something new. So I think we're all newbies in some aspects ;-) Best regards, Randy