Note that although the subject says "Modified 20260401", this was actually mailed on 5/1. The full diff -wu:
--- _01 2026-02-02 21:21:51.646238002 -0800 +++ _04 2026-05-01 15:29:54.592950190 -0700 @@ -1,101 +1,143 @@ Debian-user is a mailing list provided for support for Debian users, and to facilitate discussion on relevant topics. -Some guidelines which may help explain how the list works: +Codes of Conduct +================ + +* The list is a Debian communication forum. As such, it is subject to both + the Debian mailing list Code of Conduct and the main Debian Code of Conduct + https://www.debian.org/MailingLists/#codeofconduct + https://www.debian.org/code_of_conduct + +Guidelines for this list +======================== +Some guidelines which may help explain how the list should work: + +Language +======== * The language on this mailing list is English. There may be other mailing - lists that are language-specific for example debian-user-french + lists that are language-specific, for example, debian-user-french or + debian-user-catalan -* It is common for users to be redirected here from other lists - for example, +* It is common for users to be redirected here from other lists, for example, from debian-project. It is also common for people to be posting here when English is not their primary language. Please be considerate. -* It is not primarily a discussion forum for wishlist items for Debian. If - you are looking for something to be changed within Debian, there may be - more appropriate lists. - -* Although the list has some developers reading it, it is not a primary - forum for contacting Debian developers. It may be more appropriate to - use reportbug or other tools for raising bugs on the Debian bug tracker. - -* If you have a problem - do try looking with a search engine to see if - someone else has had similar issues. If you can't understand what you - find, at least if you bring that search criterion to the list, we may - have a better idea of where to start. (See also how to ask questions - below.) - -* The list is a Debian communication forum. As such, it is subject to both - the Debian mailing list Code of Conduct and the main Debian Code of Conduct +Answering questions and contributing to discussions constructively +================================================================== - https://www.debian.org/MailingLists/#codeofconduct - https://www.debian.org/code_of_conduct - -* This is a fairly busy mailing list and you may have to wait for an - answer - please be patient. Please post answers back to the list so - others can benefit; private conversations don't benefit people who - may be following along on the list or reading the archives later. +* This is a fairly busy mailing list but even so you may have to wait some + time for an answer - please be patient. * Help and advice on this list is provided by volunteers in their own time. It is common for there to be different opinions or answers provided. - * Please try to stay on topic. Arguments for the sake of it are not - welcome here. Partisan political / religious / cultural arguments - do not belong here either. Debian's community is world wide; don't - assume others will agree with your views or need to read them on a - Debian list. - -* There is an FAQ on the Debian wiki derived from some questions asked on - this list at https://wiki.debian.org/FAQsFromDebianUser - -* How to ask questions and read replies. - -1. PLEASE use a subject line that means something - "I need help" is probably -not useful. "I'm having problems with the Debian 12.12 amd64 DVD image" or -similar is better - something that sets out one problem / a single issue. - -2. Try and write down what steps you have taken / where you have found -information. Show what you have actually done as much as what you think you -have done. If it helps, write down things you do / commands you run as you do -them. - -3. People may ask you to run commands to establish what is happening / what -hardware you have. Provide the full output if you can: if you can't provide -full output - show what commands you ran and what output (if any) was the -result after each command. The history command will help here. -Likewise with logs. It may be also be appropriate for you to ask what extra -information is needed / may help others solve the problem and then to try -to give the extra information requested. - -4. The mailing list threads replies. Don't break the thread / raise other -issues needlessly . It is as easy to begin a separate email - one per issue. - -Please DO NOT hijack other people's ongoing threads. Raise a separate email, -as above - -5. If several people ask similar questions, it may be possible to summarise -lots of information in one post. - -6. Give as much useful information as you can. If you are unsure, it is fine -to ask what other information might be necessary. We cannot all read minds: we -need some clues. - -7. If all other things don't work: stop, write down one thing you want to -make clearer and make that clear. Slow down and think - sometimes a -deliberate approach is necessary. - -8. If the problem has produced a long thread it is very useful to provide a -subject title periodically with [SUMMARY] or [SOLVED] outlining how the -problem was eventually solved or showing what issues remain outstanding. - -9. Unfortunately, the people on the Debian mailing lists / IRC channels cannot -give good advice for every Debian-derived distribution. Each distribution -changes different things and we will not have all the answers. - -10. As a result, strictly speaking, Debian-derived distributions are off-topic -in debian-user. Each one should have its own support channels and processes to -raise issues. Debian-user is not normally the appropriate place to raise -problems with non-Debian distributions though if you can reproduce the -problem in Debian we will possibly be better able to help. +* It is not necessary to answer every post on the mailing list. + +* Be constructive in your responses. It may be that somebody else answers + a question before you - if so, you should not reply simply in order to get + the last word in, only reply if you can add useful information. + +Off-topic posts +=============== + +* Please try to stay on topic. + +* Off-topic posts will happen occasionally as threads wander. + Don't reply to them to make them carry on. + +* If you wish to introduce an off-topic subject that might be + of interest to the wider list, start a new thread and preface + the title with [OT]. + +* There is no debian-offtopic mailing list: please don't try + to start one. + +Partisan topics and political arguments +* Arguments for the sake of it are not + welcome here. + +* Partisan political / religious / cultural arguments do not belong here + either. + + Debian's community is world wide; do not assume others will agree with your + views or need to read them on a Debian list. + +Editing and answering mailing list posts +======================================== + +* It is helpful to write meaningful subject lines. If you change subject + or emphasis in mid-thread, please change the subject line on your email + accordingly so that this can be clearly seen. + + For example: New question [WAS Old topic] + +* It may also be useful for someone to post a summary email from time to + time to explain long threads. + +* Before posting, it may be useful to check your post for spelling mistakes + and scan it for redundancy, duplicate words and redundancy. + +* Clear replies and a short mailing list thread are much easier to + read and follow than long threads. + +* If you are replying to a post, please reply in-line if possible and + cut out extra text that is not relevant to your point. + +Private replies and responding to posts off-list +================================================ + +* Please post answers back to the list so others can benefit: private + conversations don't benefit people who may only be following + along on the list or reading the archives later. + +* We're only human: you may want to respond to someone off-list + to make a point (or to wish them Happy Birthday / comment that you + haven't seen them for a long time). We're also a community and the + people you find on the list may become familiar friends + + BUT + +* Posting outside the list can be unhelpful: bad behaviour outside the lists + can't easily be dealt with and will be invisible. You may inadvertently leak + personal information by posting a private reply back to the list. + + If you *do* want to post outside the list - make it clear that you have done + so at the top of the message. If someone replies to you privately and you + think that this should go back to the list - ask them to post it to the list + - do not just do so on their behalf without checking. + +I can't see what I want here - help me! +======================================= + +* It is often useful to look through the archives to see whether the issue + you wish to raise or a similar issue has been raised before by someone + else. The top level link to the archives of this list is at + https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/ organised by year, then month. + +* Although there are only 20 or 30 regular contributors, there may + be a couple of thousand readers in the background. Nobody is + a mind reader, nobody can sit beside you. Please help by providing + useful details if asked, especially which version of Debian you are + running. + +I'm not using Debian but ... +============================ + +* Strictly, discussions of other distributions are off-topic here. + Please note: advice on Linux distributions other than Debian will be + only our best guess - other distributions may do things very differently. + Any advice given accordingly may be inaccurate but is given in good faith. + +FAQ topics +========== + +* There is an FAQ on the Debian wiki derived from some questions asked on this + list at https://wiki.debian.org/FAQsFromDebianUser + +This is a public list, archived in many places +============================================== * One question that comes up on almost all Debian lists from time to time is of the form: @@ -104,37 +146,18 @@ Could you please delete my name / details / remove the mail" Practically, this is impossible: the mailing lists are archived, potentially -cached by Google and so on. Unfortunately, there is nothing much we can do to -ensure that all copies anywhere on the Internet are deleted. Asking to do this -may only serve to draw further attention - the so-called "Streisand effect" -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect - -Spam and unsolicited commercial email that doesn't belong on the list -===================================================================== - -Debian does have comparatively strong spam filters on the mailing lists: -listmasters will remove emails that are reported as spam. The easiest -way to report spam is by using the web interface to Debian mailing lists -below https://lists.debian.org - -If you quote spam email in a reply, you may end up making the spam filters -less effective. If you respond to it on list, then it becomes part of the -list conversations forever. Replying to it with angry messages won't get -back to the originators and does not help the ongoing fight against spam. +cached by Google and so on. -See also: https://wiki.debian.org/Teams/ListMaster/ListArchiveSpam +Unfortunately, there is nothing much we can do to ensure that all copies +anywhere on the Internet are deleted. Asking to do this may only serve to +draw further attention - the so-called "Streisand effect" +See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect -Problems? -========= +Problems and inappropriate behaviour? +===================================== Complaints about inappropriate behaviour should be referred to the Debian Community Team <[email protected]>. -Inappropriate behaviour on the list may lead to warnings; repeated bad +Inappropriate behaviour on the list may lead to warnings: repeated bad behaviour may lead to temporary or permanent bans for offenders. - -Contributions -============= - -This FAQ is now archived as a git repository. Contributions and corrections -would be welcome. Contact [email protected] for details.
