Scott D. Yelich <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes on 14 September 2000 at 15:36:17 -0600
> Dave -- your message was great. I would hope that there would be
> more like it on the list in the future.
>
> I'll add one thing to the list, if I may be so bold, is a little bit
> about approaching problem solving in a unix environment, remember, it's
> usually PATH, PERMISSION
Exactly. If you don't know where something is supposed to be, there
are ways to figure that out, even if you can't read the source.
> If linuxpeople is a newbie -- or if anyone else is a newbie -- then I'd
> like to offer this bit of advice that may or may not be useful, as your
> mileage may vary: When working with new systems/apps/etc, try to do
> things in an incremental way. Now, this may sound simplistic -- but
> I'll give some more ideas.
I think this is also good advice.
[several other bits of reasonable advice snipped]
> Finally, and this is the part the list will not like -- don't worry a
> lot about all the assholes out there who think they're god's gift to
> whatever they think they're god's gift to. As I said in one of my other
> posts -- it seems to me that many newbies get one little clue and then
> they try to cash that in as often as possible. Yes, we'll be grateful
> when you learn about the UNIX path, but for the other newbie who tears
> you a new one because [s]he learned about the path LAST week, don't
> sweat it.
And, whatever you do, don't come in demanding help on your own terms
as if it were your birthright. It isn't. None of us wrote qmail,
none of us made you install qmail, none of us owes you a thing more
than any two random people owe each other. (Well, Dan sometimes reads
this list, and he *did* write qmail; but he's distinctly in the
minority on that.) Nearly all the time, the tone you get back is as
good or better than the tone you send out. Anybody offering you help
here is doing it for free and for fun. If you make it not fun, they
will not help you.
But, certainly, if somebody offends you here, the best thing to do is
to ignore them. This is true whether your being offended is
completely justified by the situation, or completely a problem of your
own neuroses, or anywhere in between.
--
David Dyer-Bennet / Welcome to the future! / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Photos: http://dd-b.lighthunters.net/
SF: http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/ Minicon: http://www.mnstf.org/minicon/
