Finding Help

Help me if you can I'm feeling down. And I do appreciate you being 'round. - The Beatles

Help is out there. You just have to know where to look. With Linux there are an amazing number of places you can go. There are mailing lists, IRC channels, web pages with public forums, and many other resources available. This chapter will try to help you get the most out of your quest for help. Newsgroups and Mailing Lists This guide cannot teach you everything about Linux. There just isn't enough space. It is almost inevitable that at some point you will find something you need to do, that isn't covered in this (or any other) document at the LDP. One of the nicest things about Linux is the large number of forums devoted to it. There are forums relating to almost all facets of Linux ranging from newbie FAQs to in depth kernel development issues. To receive the most from them, there are a few things you can do. Finding The Right Forum The first thing to do is to find an appropriate forum. There are many newsgroups and mailing lists devoted to Linux, so try to find and use the one which most closely matches your question. For example, there isn't much point in you asking a question about sendmail in a forum devoted to Linux kernel development. At best the people there will think you are stupid and you will get few responses, at worst you may receive lots of highly insulting replies (flames). A quick look through the newsgroups available finds comp.mail.sendmail, which looks like an appropriate place to ask a sendmail question. Your news client probably has a list of the newsgroups available to you, but if not then a full list of newsgroups is available at http://groups.google.com/groups?group=*. Before You Post Now that you have found your appropriate forum, you may think you are ready to post your question. Stop. You aren't ready yet. Have you already looked for the answer yourself? There are a huge number of HOWTOs and FAQs available, if any of them relate to the thing you are having a problem with then read them first. Even if they don't contain the answer to your problem, what they will do is give you a better understanding of the subject area, and that understanding will allow you to ask a more informed and sensible question. There are also archives of newsgroups and mailing lists and it is entirely possible that your question has been asked and answered previously. http://www.google.com or a similar search engine should be something you try before posting a question. Writing Your Post Okay, you have found your appropriate forum, you have read the relevant HOWTOs and FAQs, you have searched the web, but you still have not found the answer you need. Now you can start writing your post. It is always a good idea to make it clear that you already have read up on the subject by saying something like ``I have read the Winmodem-HOWTO and the PPP FAQ, but neither contained what I was looking for, searching for `Winmodem Linux PPP Setup' on google didn't return anything of use either''. This shows you to be someone who is willing to make an effort rather than a lazy idiot who requires spoonfeeding. The former is likely to receive help if anyone knows the answer, the latter is likely to meet with either stony silence or outright derision. Write in clear, grammatical and correctly spelt English. This is incredibly important. It marks you as a precise and considered thinker. There are no such words as ``u'' or ``b4.'' Try to make yourself look like an educated and intelligent person rather than an idiot. It will help. I promise. Similarly do not type in all capitals LIKE THIS. That is considered shouting and looks very rude. Provide clear details stating what the problem is and what you have already tried to do to fix it. A question like ``My linux has stopped working, what can I do?'' is totally useless. Where has it stopped working? In what way has it stopped working? You need to be as precise as possible. There are limits however. Try not to include irrelevant information either. If you are having problems with your mail client it is unlikely that a dump of your kernel boot log (dmesg) would be of help. Don't ask for replies by private email. The point of most Linux forums is that everybody can learn something from each other. Asking for private replies simply removes value from the newsgroup or mailing list. Formatting Your Post Do not post in HTML. Many Linux users have mail clients which can't easily read HTML email. Whilst with some effort, they can read HTML email, they usually don't. If you send them HTML mail it often gets deleted unread. Send plain text emails, they will reach a wider audience that way. Follow Up After your problem has been solved, post a short followup explaining what the problem was and how you solved it. People will appreciate this as it not only gives a sense of closure about the problem but also helps the next time someone has a similar question. When they look at the archives of the newsgroup or mailing list, they will see you had the same problem, the discussion that followed your question and your final solution. More Information This short guide is simply a paraphrase and summary of the excellent (and more detailed) document ``How To Ask Questions The Smart Way'' by Eric S Raymond. http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html. It is recommend that you read it before you post anything. It will help you formulate your question to maximize your chances of getting the answer you are looking for. IRC IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is not covered in the Eric Raymond document, but IRC can also be an excellent way of finding the answers you need. However it does require some practice in asking questions in the right way. Most IRC networks have busy #linux channels and if the answer to your question is contained in the man pages, or in the HOWTOs then expect to be told to go read them. The rule about typing in clear and grammatical English still applies. Most of what has been said about newsgroups and mailing lists is still relevant for IRC, with a the following additions Colours Do not use colours, bold, underline or strange (non ASCII) characters. This breaks some older terminals and is just plain ugly to look at. If you arrive in a channel and start spewing colour or bold then expect to be kicked out. Be Polite Remember you are not entitled to an answer. If you ask the question in the right way then you will probably get one, but you have no right to get one. The people in Linux IRC channels are all there on their own time, nobody is paying them, especially not you. Be polite. Treat others as you would like to be treated. If you think people are not being polite to you then don't start calling them names or getting annoyed, become even politer. This makes them look foolish rather than dragging you down to their level. Don't go slapping anyone with large trouts. Would you believe this has been done before once or twice? And that we it wasn't funny the first time? Type Properly, in English Most #linux channels are English channels. Speak English whilst in them. Most of the larger IRC networks also have #linux channel in other languages, for example the French language channel might be called #linuxfr, the Spanish one might be #linuxes or #linuxlatino. If you can't find the right channel then asking in the main #linux channel (preferably in English) should help you find the one you are looking for. Do not type like a ``1337 H4X0R d00d!!!''. Even if other people are. It looks silly and thereby makes you look silly. At best you will only look like an idiot, at worst you will be derided then kicked out. Port scanning Never ever ask anyone to port scan you, or try to ``hack'' you. This is inviolable. There is no way of knowing that you are who you say you are, or that the IP that you are connected from belongs to you. Don't put people in the position where they have to say no to a request like this. Don't ever port scan anyone, even if they ask you to. You have no way to tell that they are who they say they are or that the IP they are connected from is their own IP. In some jurisdictions port scanning may be illegal and it is certainly against the Terms of Service of most ISPs. Most people log TCP connections, they will notice they are being scanned. Most people will report you to your ISP for this (it is trivial to find out who that is). Keep it in the Channel Don't /msg anyone unless they ask you to. It diminishes the usefulness of the channel and some people just prefer that you not do it. Stay On Topic Stay on topic. The channel is a ``Linux'' channel, not a ``What Uncle Bob Got Up To Last Weekend'' channel. Even if you see other people being off topic, this does not mean that you should be. They are probably channel regulars and different conventions apply to them. CTCPs If you are thinking of mass CTCP pinging the channel or CTCP version or CTCP anything, then think again. It is liable to get you kicked out very quickly. If you are not familiar with IRC, CTCP stands for Client To Client Protocol. It is a method whereby you can find out things about other peoples' clients. See the documentation for your IRC for more details. Hacking, Cracking, Phreaking, Warezing Don't ask about exploits, unless you are looking for a further way to be unceremoniously kicked out. Don't be in hacker/cracker/phreaker/warezer channels whilst in a #linux channel. For some reason the people in charge of #linux channels seem to hate people who like causing destruction to people's machines or who like to steal software. Can't imagine why. Round Up Apologies if that seems like a lot of DON'Ts, and very few DOs. The DOs were already pretty much covered in the section on newsgroups and mailing lists. Probably the best thing you can do is to go into a #linux channel, sit there and watch, getting the feel for a half hour before you say anything. This can help you to recognize the correct tone you should be using. Further Reading There are excellent FAQs about how to get the most of IRC #linux channels. Most #linux channels have an FAQ and/or set or channel rules. How to find this will usually be in the channel topic (which you can see at any time using the /topic command. Make sure you read the rules if there are any and follow them. One fairly generic set of rules and advice is the ``Undernet #linux FAQ'' which can be found at http://linuxfaq.quartz.net.nz .