On Fri, Oct 20, 2000 at 02:28:38PM -0700, kmself@ix.netcom.com wrote:
> If the person had enough experience (to be completely distinguished from
> intelligence, these are totally different aspects [1]) to know what to post,
> they would have done so in the first place. As he or she did not, I'm
> asking for the data I would look for on my own system to resolve the
> same issue.
The more I think about this, the more I agree with you. I think I'm
disagreeing about the way to do it. Instead of just saying "post the
output of 'cat /proc/foo | grep bar'" finish it off with "so I can tell
if baz is happening." But you're right: it is annoying when people
won't help you help them.
> ...and if it wasn't mind-bogglingly obvious, taking out hits on idiots
> was a bit of hyperbole (though I have to say the thought warms my heart
> in dark moments....).
Mmm. Taking out hits on idiots. (Said in best Homer imitation.) It
warms my heart a little too.
> My philosophy on support is to provide hints and guidance, not a crutch.
> If the appropriate response is to read the man page on some command,
> I'll say just that: "man foo".
Of course.
> I'll occasionally write a longer reply when it's philosophy more than
> mechanics at hand (e.g.: here). Some of these I've compiled into FAQs
> and micro-HOWTOs, currently I've got prepared texts on backups,
> GNU/Linux books, partitioning, XDM disabling, SSH RSA key authentication,
> Samba mounts, and sudo. Questions I've answered enough times, in enough
> depth, to have a standard response. Jeff's Bug rant is close to
> becoming same.
Don't keep them to yourself. The nice thing about having a good manual
written is being able to say rtfm when asked the questions (i.e. a
pointer to your website or wherever you've published your answers.)
Cheers,
Chris
--
IF I HAD A MINE SHAFT, I don't think I would just abandon it. There's
got to be a better way.
-- Jack Handley, The New Mexican, 1988.
