I started using linux before I started using OSF1 at school, so linux was my first unix. I found it very frustrating at first, to the point of getting pissed, and I found that the questions I posed on irc weren't getting answered in a way that I could understand, and I just couldn't follow the documentation sometimes. I think this goaded me into a "by God, I'm gonna get this if it kills me" mentality. I uninstalled linux, went to Barnes and Noble, bought "Running Linux" and "Linux in a Nutshell" (both of which are available through SuSE btw). I sat down and read Running Linux from cover to cover, reinstalled linux, and parked Linux in a Nutshell on my desktop. After that, I had infinitely fewer questions, and the ones I did have were easily answered on irc because I was now able to communicate exactly what my problem was, as well as having better knowledge of my system. RTFM is applicable most of them time, but this list exists for those with knowledge to share it with those who need it, so rarely will you get rtfm as an answer on this list. hekate@intergate.bc.ca wrote:
On Sat, 4 Jul 1998, TEX wrote: snipped
I wanted to anyway. When I came to linux it took a while to be convinced that all the answers are in the howtos and man pages. It also took some time to learn how to read the man pages effectivly. (dweebspeak) Now I only is unclear. I used to get so po'd when someone said "read the manpage" now I too sometimes say things I probably shouldn't like RTFM.. Just keep reading and after awhile the veil will be lifted..
Actually, despite, some of the occasional RTFM comments, that seems to be mostly at questions that seem obvious or are posted repeatedly. I actually think many--no, _most_ people enjoy being of assistance, especially on the SuSE list. I just get annoyed when people don't bother to try to get what's going on and then start whining and bitching about linux and how it so hard to use. It can have a learning curve, but I think if you have what it takes and really want to give it a go, then it gives you the tools to do so. As you can tell, I'm not a part of the 'let's win over the Windows people crowd'. I just don't believe any one os is for everybody, and I wonder if some people are even suited to using linux. ( that's not meant to be a snotty comment, I just mean, it seems to depend on the user, whether they are willing to do the work to go through the learning process, as as we can see, for some people it does _not_ come easy, regardless of how we found it.)
-M
One is most dishonest towards one's God; he is not _permitted_ to sin.
-- ==================================================================== Michael Lankton <A HREF="http://tasteslikechicken.ml.org"><A HREF="http://tasteslikechicken.ml.org</A">http://tasteslikechicken.ml.org</A</A>> ==================================================================== - To get out of this list, please send email to majordomo@suse.com with this text in its body: unsubscribe suse-linux-e