-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 At some point hitherto, Rich C hath spake thusly: > What is needed in a help system is something like what VMS had, but for > subject keywords like backup, restore, copy, directory, and stuff like that. > The help system doesn't really have to do much more than reference the > proper command to use, and say "Oh, you want to copy something? Well, if > it's just a file or two, see "cp." If it's an entire directory structure, > see "tar." If you want to copy a partition or disk, see "dd." Then the man > page can take over.
Linux has many examples of such help systems... They're called "books" and you can get it for $40 at your local Barnes & Noble. I named several examples of such help systems in earlier posts. And in most cases, they actually come with Linux on a CD insert. So you don't even need to pay extra for someone else's boxed set. And, as I also said, Red Hat has pretty good manuals that cover most of what is being discussed here, including where to get more help if needed. If you buy the boxed set, you get printed copies. If you don't, they are (or at least always were) on the install CD. Whaddaya want for nothing? Seriously... In my experience, NO ONE likes writing extensive documentation, unless they're getting paid to do it. If you want professional quality documentation for your FREE operating system, you're going to have to pay for it. I really don't think that's so unreasonable. I think it's unlikely that anyone will ever spend time on such a project, because there are already numerous voluminous references available. The free software community generally works on things when it perceives a need for them, and given all that is already available in print, and on linuxdoc.org, much of which also typically ships with the distro CDs, I just don't see this happening. The documentation whose absence everyone is complaining about DOES already exist. You just need to know where to find it, and/or be willing to shell out your $40 at the book store. As for finding it, that's why groups like this exist. When did the idea of reading books become so offensive? Hell, you can probably get some of these books at your local library, and not have to fork over the $40 to own it. I will also note that I believe the real problem is that people are trying to install Linux on their system before they really spend any time investigating how to do it, and what the options are. You should already have the appropriate documentation, and read through some of it, before you ever boot the install CD. It's like buying a VCR was back 15 years ago, before anyone had seen them... or any other new technology for that matter. Yes, you can figure out how to make it work by tinkering with it, but you'll probably get really frustrated a number of times, and miss out on a whole bunch of features it has, spend way more time on it that way, than you would have if you'd just taken the time to read the manual first... Would you plan a trip to another country before investigating what there is to do and where there is to stay? The automobile analogy applies here too... you don't go out and buy a car, get your license to drive, and THEN start learning how. You learn how first, then you do it. Why is installing Linux so different for people then? If you investigate your installation options before installing for the first time, you'll find out that you don't have to wipe out your Windows partition, and so when you have a problem getting stuff to work you can just reboot into Windows, and look at docs on-line. Print out anything you think you might need, and then have another go at fixing your Linux problems. Another thought that has occured to me is that what newbies really want is for Linux to be just like that other thing they are accustomed to (whatever it might be). Well, it isn't. And it never will be. That's the point. If you don't want to take the time to learn something new, then really Linux isn't for you. And that's ok. As is often the case with Linux, the horse that is being flogged to death here is a perception/awareness/mindset problem, not one of genuine lacking. Linux is what it is; if you want to use it successfully, and you're not familiar with it, you're probably going to have to be willing to think differently about it than you've thought about other operating systems. But the answers are all there already, for the most part. - -- Derek Martin [EMAIL PROTECTED] - --------------------------------------------- I prefer mail encrypted with PGP/GPG! GnuPG Key ID: 0x81CFE75D Retrieve my public key at http://pgp.mit.edu Learn more about it at http://www.gnupg.org -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE8awPydjdlQoHP510RAn5kAKC0KExCM081wfG29z5D6F1GKHA/AwCgvm76 7Iz6ebOXLd6/p3h2jT8Db9E= =eQoW -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ***************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the text 'unsubscribe gnhlug' in the message body. *****************************************************************
