Hi,
"How To Ask Questions The Smart Way" has immediately after the introduction
an advice on before you ask.
http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html#before
Following that advice is still no guarantee for a (good) response.
So when you are still stuck with something that you think it is dnsmasq
related, you have to make more effort.
Greatest challenge is most likely being persistent in solving the
problem. ( Not being persistent in demanding an answer. )
The dnsmasq manual page is feature complete. And known as "hard to
read" for those who are new to it. But still do read it and try to
understand it. Reading it again is known being effective for getting
better understanding. Find a copy of it in source code of dnsmasq and
read it by `man man/dnsmasq.8`, or when installed by `man dnsmasq`
or at https://dnsmasq.org/docs/dnsmasq-man.html
Pattern seen on the mailing list is unawareness of
network-server-client-model. Expressing such problems is indeed hard,
but also the road to a solution. Know that you are the main stake holder
of the problem that you are facing. The highest reward for
finding a solution goes to you. Keep the eco system that you are
consulting healthy by sharing also your success stories.
Avoid "DNS doesn't work", make it "My DNS client gets odd replies
from dnsmasq", "My DNS requests don't get forwarded" or another
non-generic issue.
Use real DNS client tools like `dig` or `host` (instead of `ping`).
Set the configuration --log-queries. That will allow you to see if
the queries are getting to dnsmasq, and it will give you a full dump
of the DNS cache (including DHCP derived names) if you send the dnsmasq
process SIGUSR1. Both of these will help in diagnosing the problem.
For non-biased views is networksniffing recommented.
When `tcpdump` or `wireshark` is used for such examinations,
provide the mailinglist with an URL to `.pcap`-file.
Karma bonus points for providing an URL that can be `wget`. So prevent
that your community members get exposed to websites that scream
advertisements or the need for JavaScript.
Text version output of network sniffs don't show up well after being put
in an email. Please take the pain of uploading an .pcap file insteadof
multipling the pain of malformed netsniffer output.
By the way, did you notice in the manual of dnsmasq
the options `--dumpfile` and `--dumpmask`?
In case you got stuck in finding a solution, describe also
the original problem you wanted to solve.
( See also https://xyproblem.info/ which starts with:
The XY problem is asking about your attempted solution rather than
your actual problem. This leads to enormous amounts of wasted time
and energy, both on the part of people asking for help, and on the
part of those providing help.
)
Dnsmasq is a mature project, meaning not often a release.
However we constantly want to improve. Yes, patches welcome.
Patches are not always reviewed within three days.
Retransmit of your review request after four days is not too pushy.
Aim for common interest. If you find it here, fine.
If you cannot find it here, you might found a clue for looking elsewhere
on "common interest".
Do know there are real humans behind the email addresses.
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