Date: Sat, 21 Mar 1998 09:07:11 +1100 From: Sue Blake <sue@welearn.com.au> To: Brandon Lockhart <brandon@engulf.com> Cc: freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Slackware vs FreeBSD, aswell as my opinion on this list. Message-ID: <19980321090711.05316@welearn.com.au> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.3.96.980320143420.4082A-100000@engulf.com>; from Brandon Lockhart on Fri, Mar 20, 1998 at 02:41:36PM -0500 References: <199803201924.LAA24385@unx1.omnicode.com> <Pine.BSF.3.96.980320143420.4082A-100000@engulf.com>
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On Fri, Mar 20, 1998 at 02:41:36PM -0500, Brandon Lockhart wrote:
> I understand Linux like the back of my hand, but when I
> switched over to FreeBSD, I felt like a beginner again. The FreeBSD users
> you will find, tend to be the more experienced users. Yea, Linux is fun,
> but I feel FreeBSD is more stable. Better sources for support.
I like the FreeBSD support better. There's less of it, but you know what
kind of people it's coming from. We're lucky to have them all hanging out in
freebsd-questions so that there's one place to go for reliable answers. With
Linux, I always had to ask six different people and take the average of
their responses. My computer didn't always understand these averages, and
then it was back to all six of them again.
> Now, about my opinion on this list. There would be no FreeBSD chat
> between newbies if there where no questions.
If everyone believed that we wouldn't be here in the first place. Some of us
spend most of our time helping ourselves and want to talk to real peers
about it. It's OK to be humble and talk to an expert every now and then, but
if every single thing I do with freebsd is done in "help-me-Sir!" mode, I'll
get bored pretty quickly. Sure, I need a lot of help, but most of the time I
don't. Then I'm interested in what I _can_do_ , what others can do already,
and sharing ideas about how to find out more rather than being told how to
do everything.
Do newbies have any existence, any interests, apart from those times when
they are asking someone more experienced for help? Those who do will find
likeminded souls here and still have the opportunity to use the regular list
when they need support. Those who don't will be much happier restricting
themselves to freebsd-questions instead of using both. We don't all have to
like the same things.
> I think this list should be for FreeBSD newbies in general. Not just for
> chat, but questions also.
But that is not what it is. Sorry to disappoint. End of story.
> I mean, the manual is a good place to find answers, but who write's those
> things. If we could understand them we wouldn't need to ask questions.
Now that's an excellent topic for this list!
Most of us need help to understand the manuals (not just help to use the
software) as well as help to write sensible questions for the other list.
Some of us can't even find the right manuals or other resources. Once we
work out what manuals we're using, what problems we're having with them, and
how we can learn from what each other has done with them, we'll be in a very
good position to have a say in how the manuals are written. Why? Because the
people writing them want to know how they are being used and what
improvements can be made. It's a lot of work to get manuals right. One
newbie's idea of what makes sense is not enough to give good guidance.
And once we newbies find out what we _can_ do with the manuals it'll become
clearer what it is that we can't do with them the way they are now.
Here's an example. The same day I installed I read up on how to build a new
kernel, using the handbook and FAQ together. I followed the instructions,
and voila! New kernel! No worries! Nervewracking, but it worked well. Months
later I was still trying to figure out how to do simple things like install
ports.
Does this mean that the kernel rebuilding stuff is very well written for a
newbie? I doubt it very much. It was perfectly written for me when I knew
nothing. Has anyone else tried following these instructions? Did it work or
not? Can you follow it all except for one sentence somewhere? Can another
newbie explain how they dealt with that sentence, or point to another
document that makes it clear? Throwing these questions around can help
everyone, in ways that how-to answers aren't meant to.
--
Regards,
-*Sue*-
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