Hi; I just want to add a hurrah !
On Thu, 2007-05-31 at 08:06 -0500, Kenn Murrah wrote: > I agree. The guy that "taught" me most of what I know about Linux years ago > did so by answering every one of my queries with something like "If you > Google search with a string of XXX YYY ZZZZZZZ" you should fine some sources > that will answer your question." > > Kenn I came to Linux as a newbie 3 years ago. The most difficult and frustrating part has been finding/learning the right vocabulary and/or terminology to do effective searches. Quite often a useful answer is 'man' such-and-such, if it's advice not given with a RTFM attitude. For someone new to a particular subject, 'man' help can be obtuse and ambiguous. A little forethought on the useabilty of 'man' for a newbie by a responder would be helpful and courteous. More importantly a suggestion of google search criteria and a short explanation of why that will or should work can be more useful than a long detailed explanation. > > > > I don't mind that people don't know. What I mind is that people learned > > how to find help in an independent manner. Maybe that's the key: maybe > > instead of directly giving them the answer we should point them towards > > the three or four steps that will take them to the answer. Yes. That is the key. Being new to Linux and BIG application like OOo is not a sign of stupidity. Keep in mind that most new comers are engaged in processes that for them are unintuitive (most often confused with MAC or Windows vocabulary and ways of doing things), extraneous OS frustrations, and basic wrong assumptions. An explanation of what to search for and why is more important than the answer 'per se'. -- Regards Bill --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
