Re: locale errors

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• In reply to: Chris Metzler: "Re: locale errors"
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Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 19:06:29 -0500
To: debian-user@lists.debian.org

Chris Metzler wrote:

>On Thu, 25 Mar 2004 14:42:01 -0500
>Ashley Graham <ph33rful@optonline.net> wrote:
>
>
>>>Try "dpkg-reconfigure locales" as root. If the locales package is not
>>>installed, type "apt-get install locales". Please use the archive at
>>><http://groups.google.com> (Group linux.debian.user) or
>>><http://liste.debian.org> first next time. This question has been asked
>>>and answered more then once.
>>>
>>>
>>What question hasn't been asked and answered more than once? What
>>question is new anymore?
>>
>>
>
>I see new questions here all the time -- or at least, questions asked so infrequently as to be new to me. If that weren't the case, it's hard for
>me to imagine that I'd stay subscribed. I like learning this stuff, and
>I like helping others. But I have lots of things to do as it is, and it'd
>be pretty hard for me to rationalize sticking around if I wasn't learning
>much, and if the only people I was helping were people who weren't that
>interested in helping themselves.
>
>
>
>
>>Have you tried looking up info through google lately?
>>
>>A quick look-up with the search string "locale settings" returns nothing
>>that would help me; it does offer attempts to stear me in the right
>>direction, but I probably would have made other problems in trying to
>>fix my one.
>>
>>
>
>When you get an error message, it's usually a good idea to search on
>the text of the error message itself. In this case, I did a google search
>of lists.debian.org, on the string "Setting locale failed", and got lots
>of responses that looked helpful. See below.
>
>
>
>
Usually I do that, see below. This one I had a hard time figuring out
how to pose it, so I assumed that just a simple query here would suffice
(i guess I was wrong).

<snip>

>>I understand that the "noise" and/or extra bandwidth that I used in
>>sending/receiving comments with this message might have been burdensome
>>to the server(s), and possibly you, but I received the answer quicker,
>>and more presice to my dilemma, then if I had gone through google.
>>
>>Who's to say what questions are allowed to be answered/asked? Should
>>they all go through you first; deleting the ones you feel are exotic
>>enough to actually spend time answering?
>>
>>
>
>The first clause you wrote above is probably intended to be sarcastic --
>implying that your one message cannot really have been much of a burden
>to the list or the respondant. But, as the saying goes, no single
>raindrop believes itself responsible for the flood. The users of useful
>technical fora routinely make an effort to discourage redundant questions
>for the simple reason that they want the fora to *remain useful*. And
>your second clause -- that you got the answer faster from the list than
>you would if you'd looked for it yourself -- illustrates another reason
>this subject strikes a nerve with people: why should volunteers commit
>their limited energy to helping people who don't seem willing to help
>themselves? Why not put it towards people who *are*?
>
>And feel free to point out the part of his post where he indicated that
>soem questions aren't "allowed" to be answered or asked.
>
>

I tried to look it up, but searching for the entire string isn't an
option, but now I know of google groups I will more than likely go there
in the future, after my first stop with google itself.

And it wasn't sarcasm; I know that it is a lot of work to route all that
mail to all those different places, but I figured one more straw
wouldn't break the camels back.

>>Secondly, the possible ways of explaining a problem are far from small,
>>I could have typed away dozens of attempts in google, and still not
>>gotten an answer. But I did here; in about five minutes.
>>
>>
>
>I'm glad. At the same time, though, you were kinda lucky.
>
>
>
<snip>

>Sometimes, I'll throw this link at them instead:
>
>http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
>

I've read it before, and usually; my questions are more thought out, and
more complex than this, honestly they are. But I was just getting
frustrated with applications not working as I expected, or not at all.

<snip>

>
>Your specific question was "how do I fix this:", with a quote of the
>perl warning. That specific question has been asked here lots. If
>that wasn't the question you really wanted to ask -- if your question
>instead was "I know how to change my locale settings; but how do I
>gen locales I've defined?" -- then that's what you needed to have
>typed. Again, you might want to look at the link above. Writing a
>good question is a skill one can easily develop that not only makes
>life a lot easier for those who might help you (and thus, makes people
>more willing and enthusiastic to help you), but also is directly
>educational (as I think Monique posted in another thread, it's often
>the case that working on how to pose the question can make the answer
>come to you). Yeah, this may take more time than just posting a
>quick query. But you'll be more likely to get an answer when you do,
>and less likely to seem lazy, and thus not make it past lots of
>people's filters.
>
>
>
>
Working on posing the question has made me not ask it numerous times.

>>I apologize now for being a giant, swarthy, uncouth, american.
>>
>>
>
>On this subject (asking questions that one could have found the answer
>to oneself), the offenders are broadly distributed through the world's
>nations.
>
>
my nationality wasn't an excuse, it was a warning.

>-c
>
>
>
>

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• Previous message: Colin: "Re: email signatures"
• In reply to: Chris Metzler: "Re: locale errors"
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