Telsa,
>I think this is very common. I tend to find that if I am struggling
>with something, and I periodically look back at a HOWTO, I understand
>a line or section more every so often. Like, a week later, not five
>minutes later. HOWTOs are, I think, great for people who know 'what
>they want to do' and just aren't sure they're covering everything in
>the route there. But unless everything you're told to do in a HOWTO works
>first time, you're stuck, in my experience. They're more for achieving
>an end than introducing a program or explaining a concept.
I don't agree. If you walk through a HOWTO and reach a point
where the expected result doesn't occur, you can then go onto the
Net in the appropiate group or mailing list and specify what you
did and what didn't work. Generally someone will able to help you.
The more information you can give when you ask a question, the more
likely you are to get an answer. "I installed XYZ and it didn't work"
is not as likely to produce useful responses as "I installed XYZ according
to the directions in the HOWTO, and after step 5 an error message said,
'Can't find libABC.so in path.' What do I do now?"
FYI, I'm new to the list, but not new to Linux. I've
been using it since 0.98pl6, and programming professionally on
Unix since 1989. I work in the Research Triangle Park area of NC, USA.
--Cathy James
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