Ok here we go... This draft is based on Duncan's first post plus results from the discussions, so don't be surprised if you see things here that you've seen before... (I just hope I don't get sued for plagiarism) ;-) There's also been a number of suggestion to the title. I didn't change it here yet, but some "voting" on that could also be useful. Here are the ones I found: "Get Your Question or Problem Read on fedora-list" "Effectively Eliciting a Useful Response To Your Question(s)" "List Guidelines or the How to Get Help for Your Fedora Problem" "How to Get Help on fedora-list" My suggestion: "Fedora Users List Guidelines: How to Get Help for Your Fedora Problem" Also, one note about how to make the rules known. This is my suggestion (actually, I think we should use ALL 3): 1. E-mail The Rules to every new member; 2. Send a monthly e-mail with The Rules to the list; 3. Keep a web-page with them, and a link to this web-page added to the automatic list footer. Something like -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@xxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe: http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list To post a message, read: <<The Rules Web Site Here>> ======================================================= Part One: FEDORA CORE SUPPORT LIST - UNOFFICIAL USER'S GUIDE ======================================================= * BEFORE POSTING TO THE LIST * ================================ Do your homework first! There are a number of ways you can find help within your system. If you don't find the answer there, try to look into the list archives before posting a question. This is a *very* high volume list and chances are that someone already had to face the same issue, so let's no reinvent the wheel, ok? See *section 2* below for a list of useful resources. * IF YOU STILL CAN'T FIND AN ANSWER * ===================================== If you don't find a suitable answer for your question in the resources descrbed in section 2, then writing to the list is a good idea. To make sure your post is read, please try to follow the guidelines. This guide is in the spirit of the : "RedHat Install List (RHIL) Unofficial User's Guide" http://www.rhil.net/docs/rhil-guide.html and "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way" http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html We are all regular member of the list and discussion about netequitte is ongoing. Previously established conventions are always being re-questions. So, please read this in the spirit of creating an evolving concensus. Remember that you are *a lot* more likely to get answers to your questions if you try to follow these guidelines. You may also find useful to look at Charles Curley's netiquette guide at http://www.charlescurley.com/netiquette.html. 1. NO HTML MAIL, PLEASE Set your mailer to send only plain text messages to the list (http://www.expita.com/nomime.html). Why? HTML is designed for web pages not emails, and uses a lot more bandwidth. Many list members actually block HTML because it is used for malicious code. (http://www.georgedillon.com/web/html_email_is_evil.shtml) 2. STARTING A NEW SUBJECT When you send in a new topic, *do not* start by replying to an existing message, but rather, start a new message to "fedora-list@xxxxxxxxxx". This keeps messages organized by thread, for people who like to use threads (on high-volume mailing lists like this one, threads can be a great convenience). 3. WRITE A GOOD SUBJECT LINE Make a subject line that tells us what you need. Try "Can't get past partitioning on FC3" instead of "Argg - help me!!!". Why? So that the right people read it. Also, lots of people just skim through the subject lines and only read the messages they are interested. So, by creating a good subject line, you increase the chances that your message is actually going to be read (and answered, of course). 3. IF YOU ARE REPLYING TO A MESSAGE * Make sure we can tell what you are replying to. Place each part of your reply after the text it addresses. Most mail readers put a '>' character in front of each replied to line. (Why? It gives a conversational flow to the text, and people know what you're replying to.) * Also, trim irrelevant material. (Why? It makes it eaier to read your reply and helps the reader to stay on subject.) 4. LET US KNOW WHEN YOUR QUESTION IS ANSWERED When you get a solution to your question (or find it yourself after posting to the list), *reply* to your original e-mail describing what solved your problem. -- CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE -- *This issue is still not clear if should be included.* Add a [SOLVED] to the end of the subject line. This will let people know that you don;t need help anymore with this and can look for other posts to help. Also, it makes a search in the archives easier when someone has a related problem in the future. 5. UNSUBSCRIBING To unsubscibe from the list you can visit the Fedora Mail List web page at http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list ===================================================== Part Two: USEFUL RESOURCES ===================================================== 1. GETTING HELP FROM YOUR SYSTEM There are many ways to get information from your system. Get a terminal window by right clicking on the desktop. In the window type one of the following (without the '$', and substitute <application-name> with the name of the application you are having trouble with.) $ man <application-name> $ info <application-name> name $ locate <stuff you want to know about> $ rpm -qd <packagename> 2. DOCUMENTATION Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 is based on the Fedora project. So, the RHEL documentation should be helpful for the Fedora user: http://redhat.com/docs http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/enterprise/ http://fedora.redhat.com/docs Also, good help can be found here: The Unofficial Fedora FAQ: http://www.fedorafaq.org/ The Linux Documentation Project: http://www.tldp.org/ Fedora Core Release Notes: http://fedora.redhat.com/docs/release-notes/ Fedora Tracker: http://fedoratracker.org Fedora Extras: http://fedoraproject.org/extras 3. LIST ARCHIVES http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list http://dir.gmane.org/gmane.linux.redhat.fedora.general http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=fedora-list&r=1&w=2 4. GOOGLE IT! http://google.com http://google.com/linux -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ Gustavo Seabra Graduate Student Chemistry Dept. Kansas State University Registered Linux user number 381680 ------------------------------------------------------------------ If at first you don't succeed... ...skydiving is not for you.
