[Techtalk] New to the list...new to linux

[jenn at simegen.com]

the sunlover2 wrote:


> Don't expect online friends to babysit you. Your questions are too 
> simple to be answered. You can not ask people here to teach you Unix 1, 
> 2, 3, and A, B, C. If you can not figure out the basic stuff by 
> yourself, leave this monster alone- Unix can eat you. Go to click your 
> mouse on Windows.

Um. I tend to avoid doing this, but I'm putting on the Linuxchix
Coordinator hat to make a pronouncement on the list:

This list is *specifically* intended to be a welcoming place for 
newcomers, and to answer *precisely* the sort of question Tianna
is asking.


It *also* happens to be a place for experienced people to ask questions 
about obscure parts of the kernel, or discuss things like the ethics of 
transparent proxying.
So far we haven't had to split it into two. :)

So yes, she -can- ask people here to teach her Unix 101. We might 
refer her to books, but she's CERTAINLY welcome on the list, to learn
stuff like this.

Sunlover: please re-read the web pages & the FAQ. Beginner's questions 
are welcome here. 'RTFM' and similar grades of answer are NOT welcome here,
except as helpful pointers. It's a fine line.

OK (and usually helpful):
'I'm not sure, but I think you're after the command "blah"'
Not OK on this list:
'go read the manual'



Tianna:

On the 'we might refer you to books' vein: I believe there's an O'Reilly 
Linux-in-a-nutshell book. It might be a good reference to have on hand, 
though it's not a 'teaching' book.
O'Reilly is, in general, a good publisher for Linux and Open Source reference
materials. Sure, some of the time they produce dud books, but their signal/noise
ratio is gratifyingly high.

Disclaimer: Nowadays I work for them, freelance. I had this opinion 
before I worked for them, though.



Jenn V.
-- 
     "Do you ever wonder if there's a whole section of geek culture
             you miss out on by being a geek?" - Dancer.

jenn at simegen.com     Jenn Vesperman     http://www.simegen.com/~jenn/