Re: Any newbie Linux forums?

From: Peter T. Breuer (ptb_at_oboe.it.uc3m.es)
Date: 07/11/05 

Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2005 12:44:24 +0200

Tony Lawrence <foo@pcunix.com> wrote:
> Bottom line: there are poor problem solvers, there are mediocre problem
> solvers, and there are those who are really good at it. People don't
> exhibit great movement within those classifications.

Yeah, but "problem solving" is the key, no matter how good or bad at it
you are.

"The problem is" that many newbies are looking for a ready-made answer,
not a process!

They don't understand that gurus don't "know" any answers - they are
worked out from scratch pretty much every time, by looking at what is
reported, checking the manual pages, reproducing the symptoms, etc.
etc. There is no magic.

Thus it costs effort to produce an answer, and gurus naturally expect
and require that newbies put an at least equal amount of effort into
providing the data and observations on which a diagnosis can be built
and researched. And in the end gurus prefer to teach the newbie how to
think and observe and do properly in order that they won't be bothered
again.

There is something in the idea that some people are just too hopeless
to be worth the effort in the first place, however! They should pay me
to log in over the net and look at their problemn for them!

Peter

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