Scott D. Yelich <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes on 1 July 1999 at 18:00:01 -0600
>
> Has anyone else noticed anything similar to the following on this list:
Actually, I haven't. This list is relatively civil as online forums
go; at worst the regulars get a bit terse now and then. You greatly
overrate the knowledge needed to install qmail successfully, or to
have your questions taken seriously on this list. I find qmail easy
to use, reliable, and very fast, and I find the support I've gotten on
this list to be very good indeed; prompt, accurate, and informative.
I've never been a sysadmin professionally, and my knowledge of (admin
on) modern unix (as opposed to SunOS, and I don't mean Solaris) is
nearly limited to the Linux boxes I've played around with in my spare
time. I've asked questions that were basically, it turned out,
stupid, and gotten quick and accurate explanations to straighten me
out. I don't recall any flames at me here, certainly not from
regulars, even when I'm asking stupid questions.
Personally, I think it comes down to attitude. Some people have
enough showing that it touches off some others now and then. I also
think that a lot of you here don't understand the depth of knowledge
of a system that people seriously in the unix world (whether as
programmer or admin) consider to constitute being a wizard. Unlike
the Windows user world, the next step up from novice isn't guru; there
are *many* intermediate steps. Qmail isn't just for wizards, at all.
An early journeyman admin should be able to figure out how to get it
working relatively easily. However, a journeyman admin isn't just two
days of reading away from being a complete novice; it's more like
*months* of moderately serious attention.
We won't talk about what it takes to be a master.
--
David Dyer-Bennet [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.ddb.com/~ddb (photos, sf) Minicon: http://www.mnstf.org/minicon
http://ouroboros.demesne.com/ The Ouroboros Bookworms
Join the 20th century before it's too late!
