> > First off, I think it's great that you're working on a newbie guide. > I'm *not* new to linux, and yet I still needed a good bit of > hand-holding from a friend who'd gone through the process.
thanks! makes me feel better that it really was challenging! > > Which brings me to my first thought. In these instructions, you > intersperse "unix newbie" stuff with "tmda newbie" stuff. I think it > might be a good idea to create separate links for that -- something > like, "For a primer on how to use the command line, go here; For a > primer on editors, go here." That way, people who are tmda novices but > not unix novices can dive straight into the juicy stuff. > i was writing this sort of as a walk-through for people who were novices in both (since I was essentially novice at both). I thought it might be hard for a newbie to make the leap from what the commands were and where to use them. so i did them more "inline" with the instructions, with explicit instructions of the actual commands as examples. I agree that for someone who already knows unix, it is kind of lame. maybe I could put together a synopsis/outline for the beginning of the document that someone who already knows unix could easily follow. e.g. 1. create a directory called .tmda in your home directory 2. create the following folders: pending, responses, logs, etc. and just go on like that. Could be done in a page or so. i do think that for people inexperience with linux/unix, having explicit inline instructions are very useful, but maybe you are right...separate sections could be better and just as easy to follow > Secondly, under editors, you don't mention emacs!! Now granted, I avoid > emacs whenever possible, but it's certainly a popular editor and should > be given its due =) > condsider it added :) > I have this nagging feeling that the instructions you give are not > universal, but I can't pinpoint any particular spot. Well, wait, maybe > I can. For one thing, you seem to assume root access. That should be > stated up-front. It's also possible, though more of a pain, to install > tmda as a regular user. I'm also not sure why you say that users need > web access to the server? You put the executables in /var/www/cgi-bin/, > which weirds me out a bit. Why not /usr/local/bin ? Also, some systems > provide packages -- for example, if you're using debian unstable (sid), > I would strongly suggest using the tmda package rather than rolling your > own. > they are not universal, as i don't have enough experience. as i mentioned in the first paragraph, it is tailored to the server that i have, and tailored to sendmail with procmail. however, i did try to explain to some extent my "discovery" process so that people who had different systems could try to figure things out as far as some of the specifics - i don't think i have root access, but in some directories, such as the home and the cgi-bin, i can create files/folders and execute scripts i don't think i can write to the usr/local/bin folder, but even if i could, i would have chosen the var/www/cgi-bin because i wanted other accounts that i have to be able to access the tmda files > Just some thoughts as I was reading this ... More documentation is > definitely good documentation! It seems like tmda has so many possible > installation types that what would be really cool is kind of a "choose > your own adventure" type help guide, where you describe the install type > you're after and the guide gives you customized instructions. > > You want to install tmda. Which MTA do you choose? > Postfix, Exim, Sendmail-> > > etc ... i think this would be a great idea. > > Actually, I think that would be kind of cool, especially as a wiki where > other users could add their area of expertise. > > Hey, Jason, how do you feel about wikis on your site? > > -- > monique > thanks so much for your comments. i can think of some ideas to modify this now...one is to do a quick and dirty step through. it would be good to help frame the overall installation process. Bhavesh _____________________________________________ tmda-users mailing list ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) http://tmda.net/lists/listinfo/tmda-users
