Getting used to digging for questions before asking out loud

["STeve Andre'" <andres@msu.edu>]

At 05:49 PM 4/19/01 +0200, rewt wrote:
>Is there any way to do this on openbsd ? i know win2k supports it but i 
>havent seen anything on this subject on openbsd.


Might I suggest using the mail archive facility on the OpenBSD web page
as a first level of digging around before asking on the mailing lists?

The mail archives are an *excellent* place to learn about things in OpenBSD.
I use them frequently, and at this point I'm getting about 90% of what I'd like
to know from them.

It's really very easy to use.  When I am confused about something, I'll go 
there
and start looking at the "misc" archive.  I'll type in part of a phrase and 
see what
I get back.  Most of the time I get stuff that helps, sometimes get exactly 
what
I want on the first try, and more rarely strike out with my first phrase 
and have to
rethink my question.

The OpenBSD crowd is probably a little different from what you're used to.  On
many mailing lists I've seen, common questions are asked again and again and
again, which is kind of annoying.  This place isn't like that--people are 
expected
and encouraged  to do some research first, to see if they can't help themselves
with their questions, and ask here, only after having tried finding out on 
your own.

This does two important things.  First, it teaches the participants here to 
think for
themselves and READ for themselves.  Getting used to this gives you some real
power--you aren't at the whim of others, you're able to ferret stuff out 
yourself and
learn when you need stuff, not when others get to answering your query.  You'll
be a better OpenBSD user and can help friends with it faster and better if 
you get
into the habit of being able to figure this stuff out yourself.

The second aspect of this is that it improves the quality of the mailing 
lists.  Often
asked questions are a form of pollution on mailing lists, repelling folks 
sometimes
to the point of abandoning the list because of the drivel content.  That's 
really bad,
because then their input is lost when important things come around.  You 
can find
the archives at [http://openbsd.org/mail.html] at the bottom of the page.

There is also the FAQ to look at.  Remember the FAQ, Luke...  It has a 
wealth of
information in it that helps.  It's an evolving document too, and gets 
better with time.
After looking at the FAQ, if you don't see your question and you think it's 
worthy (ie
common enough) for inclusion, helping create the question and answer would be a
good thing to do.  [http://openbsd.org/faq]

Lastly, remember the man pages.  The documentation on OpenBSD is simply the
best I've come across be it Open Source or commercial.  Using the apropos 
command
will show you lots of things, often helping out. 
[http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi]

So Rewt, try looking at the archives.  This isn't meant to be a put 
down.  You'll find
a lot of stuff there, and possibly answer your questions.  It's always 
worth trying this
first.

Good luck on information hunting,

--STeve Andre'