[SGVLUG] Linux and then SCO !

[Emerson, Tom]

> -----Original Message-----
> Behalf Of David Lawyer
> 
> On Mon, Aug 29, 2005 at 08:00:09AM -0700, Tom Emerson wrote:
> > 
> > And to follow on Dustin's comment about learning to ask a 
> good question, you 
> > might find this link to be enlightening:
> > 
> >      http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
> 
> I didn't think this was very good.  The author is just too dogmatic.

Do you have a better set of guidelines?  I'll agree, parts of this are a bit over-the-top, and there are a few cheap shots taken, but the point of the post is still valid -- "here's how to ask a question in a way that is likely to be answered in a civil and swift manner"

  -- do a little research: with as many archived newsgroups, e-mail lists, FAQs, and so forth that already exist "on the web", there is a good chance that the question has been asked and a sufficiently clear answer already exists
     -- show what research you did: it may be a case of using a keyword that was too specific or too generic, and those that respond may have a better suggestion

  -- be precise: in this case, the question was "what's the difference between an unnamed linux distribution and an unspecified release of SCO's concept of Unix" -- we could fill a good sized hard drive with posts on "what's different", (and the more we posted, the less likely the original poster will read it all).  He also mentioned that he would be doing "maintenance" on the system -- that could be anything from keeping track of users to repartitioning hard drives; from backups to installing new software updates and patches; from reviewing /var/log/messages for intrusion attempts to tuning kernel parameters in /proc [or the SCO equivalent, if it even has one...]  In short, we really don't know what he asked us to do for him.

  -- don't be demanding: unless the answer to the question may involve something confidential, don't ask for a "private" reply -- if you had to ask the question, it's possible someone else will encounter the same problem and would benefit from a public reply.  (meaning they will find this answer in response to the "research" step above).  A polite request to be /copied/ on the answer may be appropriate in some cases -- say for instance on a high-volume mailing list that, other than for this question, you are unlikely to monitor [cite this as a reason]

  -- do be thankful: a reply of "thanks" goes a long way to fostering future communication [though I tend to disagree on how to respond -- I'd prefer a private response in this case rather than a public response /unless/ more than a dozen people responded with ideas -- a one-liner follow-on is no different than a "metoo" post (and just as annoying)]