Re: Why questions don't get answered, or "No, I've already RTFM, tell me the answer!"

John Summerfied <debian@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> · Fri, 30 Dec 2005 09:24:14 +0800

David G. Miller (aka DaveAtFraud) wrote:

craigwhite@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
----
pardon the html...trying to keep long line together...
stick this in a google search
"rmdir when directory is not empty" 
site:https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-list/
Craig

Thanks Craig.   I didn't know that Google trick.
My $.02 on the main topic of this thread.  Requests for assistance should:
1) Have a clear concise statement of the problem as the subject.
2) Should start off with a re-statement of what the problem is that 
expands on the subject.
3) If necessary, include the steps the poster has already taken or other 
pertinent information.
This tends to allow verbose posts to get answered since people who have 
some idea of the solution can understand the problem without having to 
wade through a lot of material.  My time is limited (and I'm guessing so 
is everybody else) so I like to be able to *quickly* determine whether I 
can help with a particular problem or not.

All sound advice.
It would, I guess, be too much to ask responders to seek clarification 
instead of guessing that the problem is. Often, I think a Q is the only 
sensible reply, and I see others assuming they know what the OP means by 
"my computer won't boot," or some other vague description of a problem.

It would be nice if the Fedora web site were to have an easy to find 
"getting help" section that, besides pointing to this list, also 
included some hints such as the above for searching and maybe even some 
basic stuff like using "man -k" and other tools such as grep to RTFM 
successfully.

an introduction to the info command too! I've been using Linux for eight 
years or so and I still detest that command, mostly because I don't 
understand the UI, it seems arcane, different from everything else....
pinfo is better, but not always part of the install set.
Mostly
$_ info info | less
works.
But also, a guide to asking questions that will attract good answers.

--
Cheers
John
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Re: Why questions don't get answered, or "No, I've already RTFM, tell me the answer!"

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