diff --git a/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/Makefile b/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/Makefile new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..16296d21ff --- /dev/null +++ b/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/Makefile @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +# +# $FreeBSD: doc/en_US.ISO_8859-1/articles/committers-guide/Makefile,v 1.3 1999/09/06 06:52:35 peter Exp $ +# + +MAINTAINER=grog@FreeBSD.org + +DOC?= article + +FORMATS?= html + +INSTALL_COMPRESSED?= gz +INSTALL_ONLY_COMPRESSED?= + +# +# SRCS lists the individual SGML files that make up the document. Changes +# to any of these files will force a rebuild +# + +# SGML content +SRCS= article.sgml + +DOC_PREFIX?= ${.CURDIR}/../../.. +.include "${DOC_PREFIX}/share/mk/doc.project.mk" diff --git a/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/article.sgml b/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/article.sgml new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..a3bf0ff5ea --- /dev/null +++ b/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/article.sgml @@ -0,0 +1,563 @@ + +%man; +]> + +
+ + How to get best results from the FreeBSD-questions mailing + list + + + Greg + Lehey + + +
grog@FreeBSD.org
+ + + + $FreeBSD$ + + + This document provides useful information for people looking to + prepare an e-mail to the FreeBSD-questions mailing list. Advice and + hints are given that will maximise the chance that the reader will + receive useful replies. + + This document is regularly posted to the FreeBSD-questions mailing + list. + + + + + Introduction + + FreeBSD-questions is a mailing list maintained by + the FreeBSD project to help people who have questions about the normal + use of FreeBSD. Another group, FreeBSD-hackers, + discusses more advanced questions such as future development + work. + + + The term hacker has nothing to do with breaking + into other people's computers. The correct term for the latter + activity is cracker, but the popular press hasn't found + out yet. The FreeBSD hackers disapprove strongly of cracking + security, and have nothing to do with it. For a longer description of + hackers, see Eric Raymond's How To Become A Hacker + + + This is a regular posting aimed to help both those seeking advice + from FreeBSD-questions (the newcomers), and also those + who answer the questions (the hackers). + + Inevitably there is some friction, which stems from the different + viewpoints of the two groups. The newcomers accuse the hackers of being + arrogant, stuck-up, and unhelpful, while the hackers accuse the + newcomers of being stupid, unable to read plain English, and expecting + everything to be handed to them on a silver platter. Of course, there's + an element of truth in both these claims, but for the most part these + viewpoints come from a sense of frustration. + + In this document, I'd like to do something to relieve this + frustration and help everybody get better results from + FreeBSD-questions. In the following section, I recommend how to submit + a question; after that, we'll look at how to answer one. + + + + How to subscribe to FreeBSD-questions + + FreeBSD-questions is a mailing list, so you need mail access. Send + a mail message to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with the single + line: + + subscribe FreeBSD-questions + + majordomo is an automatic program which + maintains the mailing list, so you don't need a subject line. If your + mailer complains, however, you can put anything you like in the subject + line. + + When you get the reply from majordomo + telling you the details of the list, please save + it. If you ever should want to leave the list, you'll need + the information there. See the next section for more details. + + + + How to unsubscribe from FreeBSD-questions + + When you subscribed to FreeBSD-questions, you got a welcome message + from Majordomo@FreeBSD.ORG. In this message, amongst + other things, it told you how to unsubscribe. Here's a typical + message: + + Welcome to the freebsd-questions mailing list! + +If you ever want to remove yourself from this mailing list, you can send +mail to "Majordomo@FreeBSD.ORG" with the following command in the body +of your email message: + +unsubscribe freebsd-questions Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.de> + +Here's the general information for the list you've subscribed to, +in case you don't already have it: + +FREEBSD-QUESTIONS User questions +This is the mailing list for questions about FreeBSD. +You should not send "how to" questions to the technical lists unless +you consider the question to be pretty technical. + + Normally, unsubscribing is even simpler than the message suggests: + you don't need to specify your mail ID unless it is different from the + one which you specified when you subscribed. + + If Majordomo replies and tells you (incorrectly) that you're not on + the list, this may mean one of two things: + + + + You have changed your mail ID since you subscribed. That's + where keeping the original message from majordomo + comes in handy. For example, the sample message above shows my mail + ID as grog@lemis.de. Since then, I have changed + it to grog@lemis.com. If I were to try to remove + grog@lemis.com from the list, it would fail: I + would have to specify the name with which I joined. + + + + You're subscribed to a mailing list which is subscribed to + FreeBSD-questions. If that's the case, you'll + have to figure out which one it is and get your name taken off that + one. If you're not sure which one it might be, check the headers of + the messages you receive from freebsd-questions: maybe there's a + clue there. + + + + If you've done all this, and you still can't figure out what's going + on, send a message to Postmaster@FreeBSD.org, and he will + sort things out for you. Don't send a message to + FreeBSD-questions: they can't help you. + + + + Should I ask <literal>-questions</literal> or + <literal>-hackers</literal>? + + Two mailing lists handle general questions about FreeBSD, + FreeBSD-questions and + FreeBSD-hackers. In some cases, it's not really + clear which group you should ask. The following criteria should help + for 99% of all questions, however: + + + + If the question is of a general nature, ask + FreeBSD-questions. Examples might be questions + about intstalling FreeBSD or the use of a particular UNIX + utility. + + + + If you think the question relates to a bug, but you're not sure, + or you don't know how to look for it, send the message to + FreeBSD-questions. + + + + If the question relates to a bug, and you're + sure that it's a bug (for example, you can + pinpoint the place in the code where it happens, and you maybe have + a fix), then send the message to + FreeBSD-hackers. + + + + If the question relates to enhancements to FreeBSD, and you + can make suggestions about how to implement them, then send the + message to FreeBSD-hackers. + + + + There are also a number of other specialized mailing lists, for + example FreeBSD-isp, which caters to the interests of + ISPs (Internet Service Providers) who run FreeBSD. If you happen to be + an ISP, this doesn't mean you should automatically send your questions + to FreeBSD-isp. The criteria above still apply, and + it's in your interest to stick to them, since you're more likely to get + good results that way. + + + + How to submit a question + + When submitting a question to FreeBSD-questions, consider the + following points: + + + + Remember that nobody gets paid for answering a FreeBSD + question. They do it of their own free will. You can influence this + free will positively by submitting a well-formulated question + supplying as much relevant information as possible. You can + influence this free will negatively by submitting an incomplete, + illegible, or rude question. It's perfectly possible to send a + message to FreeBSD-questions and not get an answer even if you + follow these rules. It's much more possible to not get an answer if + you don't. In the rest of this document, we'll look at how to get + the most out of your question to FreeBSD-questions. + + + + Not everybody who answers FreeBSD questions reads every message: + they look at the subject line and decide whether it interests them. + Clearly, it's in your interest to specify a subject. ``FreeBSD + problem'' or ``Help'' aren't enough. If you provide no subject at + all, many people won't bother reading it. If your subject isn't + specific enough, the people who can answer it may not read + it. + + + + Format your message so that it is legible, and + PLEASE DON'T SHOUT!!!!!. We appreciate that a lot of people don't + speak English as their first language, and we try to make + allowances for that, but it's really painful to try to read a + message written full of typos or without any line breaks. + + Don't underestimate the effect that a poorly formatted mail + message has, not just on the FreeBSD-questions mailing list. + Your mail message is all people see of you, and if it's poorly + formatted, one line per paragraph, badly spelt, or full of + errors, it will give people a poor impression of you. + + A lot of badly formatted messages come from + bad mailers or badly + configured mailers. The following mailers are known to + send out badly formatted messages without you finding out about + them: + + + + cc:Mail + + + + Eudora + + + + exmh + + + + Microsoft Exchange + + + + Microsoft Internet Mail + + + + Microsoft Outlook + + + + Netscape + + + + As you can see, the mailers in the Microsoft world are frequent + offenders. If at all possible, use a UNIX mailer. If you must use a + mailer under Microsoft environments, make sure it is set up + correctly. Try not to use MIME: a lot of people + use mailers which don't get on very well with + MIME. + + + + Make sure your time and time zone are set correctly. This may + seem a little silly, since your message still gets there, but many + of the people you are trying to reach get several hundred messages a + day. They frequently sort the incoming messages by subject and by + date, and if your message doesn't come before the first answer, they + may assume they missed it and not bother to look. + + + + Don't include unrelated questions in the same message. Firstly, + a long message tends to scare people off, and secondly, it's more + difficult to get all the people who can answer all the questions to + read the message. + + + + Specify as much information as possible. This is a difficult + area, and we need to expand on what information you need to submit, + but here's a start: + + + + In nearly every case, it's important to know the version of + FreeBSD you're running. This is particularly the case for + FreeBSD-CURRENT, where you should also specify the date of the + sources, though of course you shouldn't be sending questions + about -CURRENT to FreeBSD-questions. + + + With any problem which could be + hardware related, tell us about your hardware. In case of + doubt, assume it's possible that it's hardware. What kind of + CPU are you using? How fast? What motherboard? How much + memory? What peripherals? + + There's a judgement call here, of course, but the output of + the &man.dmesg.8; command can frequently be very useful, since it + tells not just what hardware you're running, but what version of + FreeBSD as well. + + + + If you get error messages, don't say I get error + messages, say (for example) I get the error + message 'No route to host'. + + + + If your system panics, don't say My system + panicked, say (for example) my system panicked + with the message 'free vnode isn't'. + + + + If you have difficulty installing FreeBSD, please tell us + what hardware you have. In particular, it's important to know + the IRQs and I/O addresses of the boards installed in your + machine. + + + + If you have difficulty getting PPP to run, describe the + configuration. Which version of PPP do you use? What kind of + authentication do you have? Do you have a static or dynamic IP + address? What kind of messages do you get in the log + file? + + + + + + A lot of the information you need to supply is the output of + programs, such as &man.dmesg.8;, or console messages, which usually + appear in /var/log/messages. Don't try to copy + this information by typing it in again; it's a real pain, and you're + bound to make a mistake. To send log file contents, either make a + copy of the file and use an editor to trim the information to what + is relevant, or cut and paste into your message. For the output of + programs like &man.dmesg.8;, redirect the output to a file and + include that. For example, + + &prompt.user; dmesg > /tmp/dmesg.out + + This redirects the information to the file + /tmp/dmesg.out. + + + + If you do all this, and you still don't get an answer, there + could be other reasons. For example, the problem is so complicated + that nobody knows the answer, or the person who does know the answer + was offline. If you don't get an answer after, say, a week, it + might help to re-send the message. If you don't get an answer to + your second message, though, you're probably not going to get one + from this forum. Resending the same message again and again will + only make you unpopular. + + + + To summarize, let's assume you know the answer to the following + question (yes, it's the same one in each case :-). + You choose which of these two questions you would be more prepared to + answer: + + + Message 1 + + Subject: HELP!!?!?? +I just can't get hits damn silly FereBSD system to +workd, and Im really good at this tsuff, but I have never seen +anythign sho difficult to install, it jst wont work whatever I try +so why don't y9ou guys tell me what I doing wrong. + + + + Message 2 + + Subject: Problems installing FreeBSD + +I've just got the FreeBSD 2.1.5 CD-ROM from Walnut Creek, and I'm having a lot +of difficulty installing it. I have a 66 MHz 486 with 16 MB of +memory and an Adaptec 1540A SCSI board, a 1.2GB Quantum Fireball +disk and a Toshiba 3501XA CD-ROM drive. The installation works just +fine, but when I try to reboot the system, I get the message +``Missing Operating System''. + + + + + How to follow up to a question + + Often you will want to send in additional information to a question + you have already sent. The best way to do this is to reply to your + original message. This has three advantages: + + + + You include the original message text, so people will know what + you're talking about. Don't forget to trim unnecessary text out, + though. + + + + The text in the subject line stays the same (you did remember to + put one in, didn't you?). Many mailers will sort messages by + subject. This helps group messages together. + + + + The message reference numbers in the header will refer to the + previous message. Some mailers, such as + mutt, can + thread messages, showing the exact + relationships between the messages. + + + + + + How to answer a question + + + Before you answer a question to FreeBSD-questions, consider: + + + + A lot of the points on submitting questions also apply to + answering questions. Read them. + + + + Has somebody already answered the question? The easiest way to + check this is to sort your incoming mail by subject: then + (hopefully) you'll see the question followed by any answers, all + together. + + If somebody has already answered it, it doesn't automatically + mean that you shouldn't send another answer. But it makes sense to + read all the other answers first. + + + + Do you have something to contribute beyond what has already been + said? In general, Yeah, me too answers don't help + much, although there are exceptions, like when somebody is + describing a problem he's having, and he doesn't know whether it's + his fault or whether there's something wrong with the hardware or + software. If you do send a me too answer, you should + also include any further relevant information. + + + + Are you sure you understand the question? Very frequently, the + person who asks the question is confused or doesn't express himself + very well. Even with the best understanding of the system, it's + easy to send a reply which doesn't answer the question. This + doesn't help: you'll leave the person who submitted the question + more frustrated or confused than ever. If nobody else answers, and + you're not too sure either, you can always ask for more + information. + + + + Are you sure your answer is correct? + If not, wait a day or so. If nobody else comes up with a + better answer, you can still reply and say, for example, I + don't know if this is correct, but since nobody else has + replied, why don't you try replacing your ATAPI CD-ROM with + a frog?. + + + + Unless there's a good reason to do otherwise, reply to the + sender and to FreeBSD-questions. Many people on the + FreeBSD-questions are lurkers: they learn by reading + messages sent and replied to by others. If you take a message which + is of general interest off the list, you're depriving these people + of their information. Be careful with group replies; lots of people + send messages with hundreds of CCs. If this is the case, be sure to + trim the Cc: lines appropriately. + + + + Include relevant text from the original message. Trim it to the + minimum, but don't overdo it. It should still be possible for + somebody who didn't read the original message to understand what + you're talking about. + + + + Use some technique to identify which text came from the original + message, and which text you add. I personally find that prepending + > to the original message + works best. Leaving white space after the + > and leave empty lines + between your text and the original text both make the result more + readable. + + + + Put your response in the correct place (after the text to which + it replies). It's very difficult to read a thread of responses + where each reply comes before the text to which it replies. + + + + Most mailers change the subject line on a reply by prepending a + text such as Re: . If your mailer doesn't do it + automatically, you should do it manually. + + + + If the submitter didn't abide by format conventions (lines too + long, inappropriate subject line), please fix + it. In the case of an incorrect subject line (such as + HELP!!??), change the subject line to (say) + Re: Difficulties with sync PPP (was: HELP!!??). That + way other people trying to follow the thread will have less + difficulty following it. + + In such cases, it's appropriate to say what you did and why you + did it, but try not to be rude. If you find you can't answer + without being rude, don't answer. + + If you just want to reply to a message because of its bad + format, just reply to the submitter, not to the list. You can just + send him this message in reply, if you like. + + + +
+ + diff --git a/en_US.ISO_8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/Makefile b/en_US.ISO_8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/Makefile new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..16296d21ff --- /dev/null +++ b/en_US.ISO_8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/Makefile @@ -0,0 +1,23 @@ +# +# $FreeBSD: doc/en_US.ISO_8859-1/articles/committers-guide/Makefile,v 1.3 1999/09/06 06:52:35 peter Exp $ +# + +MAINTAINER=grog@FreeBSD.org + +DOC?= article + +FORMATS?= html + +INSTALL_COMPRESSED?= gz +INSTALL_ONLY_COMPRESSED?= + +# +# SRCS lists the individual SGML files that make up the document. Changes +# to any of these files will force a rebuild +# + +# SGML content +SRCS= article.sgml + +DOC_PREFIX?= ${.CURDIR}/../../.. +.include "${DOC_PREFIX}/share/mk/doc.project.mk" diff --git a/en_US.ISO_8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/article.sgml b/en_US.ISO_8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/article.sgml new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..a3bf0ff5ea --- /dev/null +++ b/en_US.ISO_8859-1/articles/freebsd-questions/article.sgml @@ -0,0 +1,563 @@ + +%man; +]> + +
+ + How to get best results from the FreeBSD-questions mailing + list + + + Greg + Lehey + + +
grog@FreeBSD.org
+ + + + $FreeBSD$ + + + This document provides useful information for people looking to + prepare an e-mail to the FreeBSD-questions mailing list. Advice and + hints are given that will maximise the chance that the reader will + receive useful replies. + + This document is regularly posted to the FreeBSD-questions mailing + list. + + + + + Introduction + + FreeBSD-questions is a mailing list maintained by + the FreeBSD project to help people who have questions about the normal + use of FreeBSD. Another group, FreeBSD-hackers, + discusses more advanced questions such as future development + work. + + + The term hacker has nothing to do with breaking + into other people's computers. The correct term for the latter + activity is cracker, but the popular press hasn't found + out yet. The FreeBSD hackers disapprove strongly of cracking + security, and have nothing to do with it. For a longer description of + hackers, see Eric Raymond's How To Become A Hacker + + + This is a regular posting aimed to help both those seeking advice + from FreeBSD-questions (the newcomers), and also those + who answer the questions (the hackers). + + Inevitably there is some friction, which stems from the different + viewpoints of the two groups. The newcomers accuse the hackers of being + arrogant, stuck-up, and unhelpful, while the hackers accuse the + newcomers of being stupid, unable to read plain English, and expecting + everything to be handed to them on a silver platter. Of course, there's + an element of truth in both these claims, but for the most part these + viewpoints come from a sense of frustration. + + In this document, I'd like to do something to relieve this + frustration and help everybody get better results from + FreeBSD-questions. In the following section, I recommend how to submit + a question; after that, we'll look at how to answer one. + + + + How to subscribe to FreeBSD-questions + + FreeBSD-questions is a mailing list, so you need mail access. Send + a mail message to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with the single + line: + + subscribe FreeBSD-questions + + majordomo is an automatic program which + maintains the mailing list, so you don't need a subject line. If your + mailer complains, however, you can put anything you like in the subject + line. + + When you get the reply from majordomo + telling you the details of the list, please save + it. If you ever should want to leave the list, you'll need + the information there. See the next section for more details. + + + + How to unsubscribe from FreeBSD-questions + + When you subscribed to FreeBSD-questions, you got a welcome message + from Majordomo@FreeBSD.ORG. In this message, amongst + other things, it told you how to unsubscribe. Here's a typical + message: + + Welcome to the freebsd-questions mailing list! + +If you ever want to remove yourself from this mailing list, you can send +mail to "Majordomo@FreeBSD.ORG" with the following command in the body +of your email message: + +unsubscribe freebsd-questions Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.de> + +Here's the general information for the list you've subscribed to, +in case you don't already have it: + +FREEBSD-QUESTIONS User questions +This is the mailing list for questions about FreeBSD. +You should not send "how to" questions to the technical lists unless +you consider the question to be pretty technical. + + Normally, unsubscribing is even simpler than the message suggests: + you don't need to specify your mail ID unless it is different from the + one which you specified when you subscribed. + + If Majordomo replies and tells you (incorrectly) that you're not on + the list, this may mean one of two things: + + + + You have changed your mail ID since you subscribed. That's + where keeping the original message from majordomo + comes in handy. For example, the sample message above shows my mail + ID as grog@lemis.de. Since then, I have changed + it to grog@lemis.com. If I were to try to remove + grog@lemis.com from the list, it would fail: I + would have to specify the name with which I joined. + + + + You're subscribed to a mailing list which is subscribed to + FreeBSD-questions. If that's the case, you'll + have to figure out which one it is and get your name taken off that + one. If you're not sure which one it might be, check the headers of + the messages you receive from freebsd-questions: maybe there's a + clue there. + + + + If you've done all this, and you still can't figure out what's going + on, send a message to Postmaster@FreeBSD.org, and he will + sort things out for you. Don't send a message to + FreeBSD-questions: they can't help you. + + + + Should I ask <literal>-questions</literal> or + <literal>-hackers</literal>? + + Two mailing lists handle general questions about FreeBSD, + FreeBSD-questions and + FreeBSD-hackers. In some cases, it's not really + clear which group you should ask. The following criteria should help + for 99% of all questions, however: + + + + If the question is of a general nature, ask + FreeBSD-questions. Examples might be questions + about intstalling FreeBSD or the use of a particular UNIX + utility. + + + + If you think the question relates to a bug, but you're not sure, + or you don't know how to look for it, send the message to + FreeBSD-questions. + + + + If the question relates to a bug, and you're + sure that it's a bug (for example, you can + pinpoint the place in the code where it happens, and you maybe have + a fix), then send the message to + FreeBSD-hackers. + + + + If the question relates to enhancements to FreeBSD, and you + can make suggestions about how to implement them, then send the + message to FreeBSD-hackers. + + + + There are also a number of other specialized mailing lists, for + example FreeBSD-isp, which caters to the interests of + ISPs (Internet Service Providers) who run FreeBSD. If you happen to be + an ISP, this doesn't mean you should automatically send your questions + to FreeBSD-isp. The criteria above still apply, and + it's in your interest to stick to them, since you're more likely to get + good results that way. + + + + How to submit a question + + When submitting a question to FreeBSD-questions, consider the + following points: + + + + Remember that nobody gets paid for answering a FreeBSD + question. They do it of their own free will. You can influence this + free will positively by submitting a well-formulated question + supplying as much relevant information as possible. You can + influence this free will negatively by submitting an incomplete, + illegible, or rude question. It's perfectly possible to send a + message to FreeBSD-questions and not get an answer even if you + follow these rules. It's much more possible to not get an answer if + you don't. In the rest of this document, we'll look at how to get + the most out of your question to FreeBSD-questions. + + + + Not everybody who answers FreeBSD questions reads every message: + they look at the subject line and decide whether it interests them. + Clearly, it's in your interest to specify a subject. ``FreeBSD + problem'' or ``Help'' aren't enough. If you provide no subject at + all, many people won't bother reading it. If your subject isn't + specific enough, the people who can answer it may not read + it. + + + + Format your message so that it is legible, and + PLEASE DON'T SHOUT!!!!!. We appreciate that a lot of people don't + speak English as their first language, and we try to make + allowances for that, but it's really painful to try to read a + message written full of typos or without any line breaks. + + Don't underestimate the effect that a poorly formatted mail + message has, not just on the FreeBSD-questions mailing list. + Your mail message is all people see of you, and if it's poorly + formatted, one line per paragraph, badly spelt, or full of + errors, it will give people a poor impression of you. + + A lot of badly formatted messages come from + bad mailers or badly + configured mailers. The following mailers are known to + send out badly formatted messages without you finding out about + them: + + + + cc:Mail + + + + Eudora + + + + exmh + + + + Microsoft Exchange + + + + Microsoft Internet Mail + + + + Microsoft Outlook + + + + Netscape + + + + As you can see, the mailers in the Microsoft world are frequent + offenders. If at all possible, use a UNIX mailer. If you must use a + mailer under Microsoft environments, make sure it is set up + correctly. Try not to use MIME: a lot of people + use mailers which don't get on very well with + MIME. + + + + Make sure your time and time zone are set correctly. This may + seem a little silly, since your message still gets there, but many + of the people you are trying to reach get several hundred messages a + day. They frequently sort the incoming messages by subject and by + date, and if your message doesn't come before the first answer, they + may assume they missed it and not bother to look. + + + + Don't include unrelated questions in the same message. Firstly, + a long message tends to scare people off, and secondly, it's more + difficult to get all the people who can answer all the questions to + read the message. + + + + Specify as much information as possible. This is a difficult + area, and we need to expand on what information you need to submit, + but here's a start: + + + + In nearly every case, it's important to know the version of + FreeBSD you're running. This is particularly the case for + FreeBSD-CURRENT, where you should also specify the date of the + sources, though of course you shouldn't be sending questions + about -CURRENT to FreeBSD-questions. + + + With any problem which could be + hardware related, tell us about your hardware. In case of + doubt, assume it's possible that it's hardware. What kind of + CPU are you using? How fast? What motherboard? How much + memory? What peripherals? + + There's a judgement call here, of course, but the output of + the &man.dmesg.8; command can frequently be very useful, since it + tells not just what hardware you're running, but what version of + FreeBSD as well. + + + + If you get error messages, don't say I get error + messages, say (for example) I get the error + message 'No route to host'. + + + + If your system panics, don't say My system + panicked, say (for example) my system panicked + with the message 'free vnode isn't'. + + + + If you have difficulty installing FreeBSD, please tell us + what hardware you have. In particular, it's important to know + the IRQs and I/O addresses of the boards installed in your + machine. + + + + If you have difficulty getting PPP to run, describe the + configuration. Which version of PPP do you use? What kind of + authentication do you have? Do you have a static or dynamic IP + address? What kind of messages do you get in the log + file? + + + + + + A lot of the information you need to supply is the output of + programs, such as &man.dmesg.8;, or console messages, which usually + appear in /var/log/messages. Don't try to copy + this information by typing it in again; it's a real pain, and you're + bound to make a mistake. To send log file contents, either make a + copy of the file and use an editor to trim the information to what + is relevant, or cut and paste into your message. For the output of + programs like &man.dmesg.8;, redirect the output to a file and + include that. For example, + + &prompt.user; dmesg > /tmp/dmesg.out + + This redirects the information to the file + /tmp/dmesg.out. + + + + If you do all this, and you still don't get an answer, there + could be other reasons. For example, the problem is so complicated + that nobody knows the answer, or the person who does know the answer + was offline. If you don't get an answer after, say, a week, it + might help to re-send the message. If you don't get an answer to + your second message, though, you're probably not going to get one + from this forum. Resending the same message again and again will + only make you unpopular. + + + + To summarize, let's assume you know the answer to the following + question (yes, it's the same one in each case :-). + You choose which of these two questions you would be more prepared to + answer: + + + Message 1 + + Subject: HELP!!?!?? +I just can't get hits damn silly FereBSD system to +workd, and Im really good at this tsuff, but I have never seen +anythign sho difficult to install, it jst wont work whatever I try +so why don't y9ou guys tell me what I doing wrong. + + + + Message 2 + + Subject: Problems installing FreeBSD + +I've just got the FreeBSD 2.1.5 CD-ROM from Walnut Creek, and I'm having a lot +of difficulty installing it. I have a 66 MHz 486 with 16 MB of +memory and an Adaptec 1540A SCSI board, a 1.2GB Quantum Fireball +disk and a Toshiba 3501XA CD-ROM drive. The installation works just +fine, but when I try to reboot the system, I get the message +``Missing Operating System''. + + + + + How to follow up to a question + + Often you will want to send in additional information to a question + you have already sent. The best way to do this is to reply to your + original message. This has three advantages: + + + + You include the original message text, so people will know what + you're talking about. Don't forget to trim unnecessary text out, + though. + + + + The text in the subject line stays the same (you did remember to + put one in, didn't you?). Many mailers will sort messages by + subject. This helps group messages together. + + + + The message reference numbers in the header will refer to the + previous message. Some mailers, such as + mutt, can + thread messages, showing the exact + relationships between the messages. + + + + + + How to answer a question + + + Before you answer a question to FreeBSD-questions, consider: + + + + A lot of the points on submitting questions also apply to + answering questions. Read them. + + + + Has somebody already answered the question? The easiest way to + check this is to sort your incoming mail by subject: then + (hopefully) you'll see the question followed by any answers, all + together. + + If somebody has already answered it, it doesn't automatically + mean that you shouldn't send another answer. But it makes sense to + read all the other answers first. + + + + Do you have something to contribute beyond what has already been + said? In general, Yeah, me too answers don't help + much, although there are exceptions, like when somebody is + describing a problem he's having, and he doesn't know whether it's + his fault or whether there's something wrong with the hardware or + software. If you do send a me too answer, you should + also include any further relevant information. + + + + Are you sure you understand the question? Very frequently, the + person who asks the question is confused or doesn't express himself + very well. Even with the best understanding of the system, it's + easy to send a reply which doesn't answer the question. This + doesn't help: you'll leave the person who submitted the question + more frustrated or confused than ever. If nobody else answers, and + you're not too sure either, you can always ask for more + information. + + + + Are you sure your answer is correct? + If not, wait a day or so. If nobody else comes up with a + better answer, you can still reply and say, for example, I + don't know if this is correct, but since nobody else has + replied, why don't you try replacing your ATAPI CD-ROM with + a frog?. + + + + Unless there's a good reason to do otherwise, reply to the + sender and to FreeBSD-questions. Many people on the + FreeBSD-questions are lurkers: they learn by reading + messages sent and replied to by others. If you take a message which + is of general interest off the list, you're depriving these people + of their information. Be careful with group replies; lots of people + send messages with hundreds of CCs. If this is the case, be sure to + trim the Cc: lines appropriately. + + + + Include relevant text from the original message. Trim it to the + minimum, but don't overdo it. It should still be possible for + somebody who didn't read the original message to understand what + you're talking about. + + + + Use some technique to identify which text came from the original + message, and which text you add. I personally find that prepending + > to the original message + works best. Leaving white space after the + > and leave empty lines + between your text and the original text both make the result more + readable. + + + + Put your response in the correct place (after the text to which + it replies). It's very difficult to read a thread of responses + where each reply comes before the text to which it replies. + + + + Most mailers change the subject line on a reply by prepending a + text such as Re: . If your mailer doesn't do it + automatically, you should do it manually. + + + + If the submitter didn't abide by format conventions (lines too + long, inappropriate subject line), please fix + it. In the case of an incorrect subject line (such as + HELP!!??), change the subject line to (say) + Re: Difficulties with sync PPP (was: HELP!!??). That + way other people trying to follow the thread will have less + difficulty following it. + + In such cases, it's appropriate to say what you did and why you + did it, but try not to be rude. If you find you can't answer + without being rude, don't answer. + + If you just want to reply to a message because of its bad + format, just reply to the submitter, not to the list. You can just + send him this message in reply, if you like. + + + +
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