Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 09:27:20 +0000 (GMT) From: The Big Loser <lusr@ns1.uscreativetypes.com> To: Brad Knowles <blk@skynet.be> Cc: Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com>, Luigi Rizzo <luigi@labinfo.iet.unipi.it>, Dag-Erling Smorgrav <des@flood.ping.uio.no>, jcarlos@bahianet.com.br, stable@FreeBSD.ORG, questions@FreeBSD.ORG, security@FreeBSD.ORG, hitech@bahianet.com.br Subject: Re: Out of mbuf clusters (fwd) Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.96.990921090404.405B-100000@ns1.uscreativetypes.com> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.3.96.990921090007.334D-100000@ns1.uscreativetypes.com>
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I wanted to briefly reply to this thread before it (hopefully) dies. As far as I know, this is THE REAL WORLD and not a class and none of the contributors to these lists have the time or energy to foster a users fragile self esteem. I myself am a (relative) newbie, but that doesn't mean I need a sugar-coated response to every newbie question out there. The point is that DES took the time to present the necessary information. Who cares if his presentation was a little rough; in my experience, you are lucky to even get such a detailed answer without a price tag attached. I believe that the first thing any newbie needs to do is grow a thicker skin; if you can admit that you are in the dark, then maybe you won't gripe when the light provided isn't just what you expected. Instead you'll show what seems to be a dying aspect of humanity: Gratitude. Thanks DES and the rest who answered the original question. Some of us do appreciate everything we get. > > At 3:32 PM -0600 1999/9/20, Wes Peters wrote: > > > Granted, the answer DES gave was a little cryptic. > > Cryptic. Hmm. That's not exactly the word I'd choose, but I'm > willing to leave it at that for now. > > > He was also pointing > > out some of the crucial operational knowlege you need to SUCCESSFULLY > > operate an IRC server. > > I disagree. I read what he wrote, and while those might be the > necessary steps to run the world's largest IRC server, or the world's > most secure, I think we can all agree that not everyone in the world > needs to be a Superman in order to have an IRC server that doesn't > spontaneously crash. > > Yes, some of those steps were necessary (most importantly, the > one you outline below), but not all of them. > > > Let me paraphrase the simple answer: > > > > "You're running out of mbuf clusters, which causes FreeBSD panic. It is > > quite simple to expand the number of mbuf clusters in your system. Go > > search for the phrase 'mbuf clusters' in the FreeBSD handbook or the > > -questions archives if you don't already know how to." > > This is precisely the answer that should have been given in the > first place. > > > Regardless of why he did it, what DES did was drive just one more > wedge between the FreeBSD "haves", and the folks who'd like to learn > more about what I still feel is the best overall implementation of > Unix for servers (and arguably for desktop workstations). In the > process, he's destroying a lot of good work by people such as > yourself who would presumably attempt to close that knowledge gap in > some way other than slamming the questioner at each and every step. > > I've known a lot of University professors like that. Regardless > of how much they know, they are unable or unwilling to communicate > that information in a manner which is useful and non-abusive to > anyone not already operating on or very near their level. This makes > life extremely (and unnecessarily) unpleasant for all the students > who are forced to endure them, and the grad students who have to work > even more closely with them. Many simply choose to go elsewhere. > > We'll never know how many Einsteins or Mother Theresas we'll > never have, because they never got the chance to properly discover > that side of themselves. > > > It seems highly likely that ridiculing those who not only took the time > > to respond to your question, but also to GIVE YOU THE SYSTEM IN THE FIRST > > PLACE is NOT a good strategy for getting more questions answered in the > > future. > > In the end we all die. What will we be remembered for? Who will > remember us that way? > > How many people will remember all the significant contributions > that DES has made to the history of FreeBSD and the good of freely > available OSes around the world, and how many will remember him for > precisely the sort of thing that got this whole thread started? > > Of the people who remember him each way, how many other people > will they pass on that memory to? How far will those passed on > memories keeping getting passed on? > > > Myself, I'd like very much to remember DES as a key contributor > to what is still (for the moment, anyway) my favourite server OS, and > I would hope that one day I might actually eliminate enough of my > ignorance that I could possibly be capable of comprehending some of > the stuff that he might have to share. > > However, at the moment, this seems rather unlikely. > > > Having a sense of humor will certainly help. > > It's very hard to recognize humour when it's so well camoflaged as vitriol. > > -- > These are my opinions -- not to be taken as official Skynet policy > ____________________________________________________________________ > |o| Brad Knowles, <blk@skynet.be> Belgacom Skynet NV/SA |o| > |o| Systems Architect, News & FTP Admin Rue Col. Bourg, 124 |o| > |o| Phone/Fax: +32-2-706.11.11/12.49 B-1140 Brussels |o| > |o| http://www.skynet.be Belgium |o| > \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ > Unix is like a wigwam -- no Gates, no Windows, and an Apache inside. > Unix is very user-friendly. It's just picky who its friends are. > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-security" in the body of the message > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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