Forget Hardy

[Alan E. Davis]

I'll answer this, it's worth explaining, although the comparison with Gentoo
may be unfair (for which I apologize.  Gentoo HOWTOS are spot on.  Gentoo's
own documentation seems to me to always be up-to-date.  Almost
miraculously.    When I search for documentation, I don't see out of date
versions, I don't have to wade and weed through out of date docs to get to
one that works.  I don't know why, but the quality is exemplary.  I have
also found the bugzilla site very much up to date.

And I apologize to say the following about Ubuntu's docs, because I am
really having an excellent experience with Ubuntu right now, and I have
referred a number of people to Ubuntu: I have had to sort through gobs of
howto descriptions---google ubuntu and a few key words about a problem, and
I get an array of hits, not all of which are specific to the problem or
issue.  I can't explain the difference.  One thing I am personally guilty of
is offering clueless advice when I was clueless, as though I were clueful.
I used to post advice just because I wanted to be helpful, when in reality I
didn't know much at all.  I had to give that up.  Out of respect, I
suppose.  That is one reason I recognize this issue---and perhaps I am being
unduly harsh.

Perhaps I can expand on this: I have personal issues with various points
about Ubuntu, some of them involving earlier disatisfaction with Debian
regarding kernel compiling and installing packages from upstream source.
Earlier on, however, Debian distros---I used Knoppix alot, just to make the
install easier---always didn't hold together for me: the complicated
packages did not work!  But Ubuntu seems to have solved almost all of those
problems!  How do I know, maybe Debian has too.  I have had some rough
spots, however, where I was seeking help, and I could not find help with
them.  I suspect most of the fault is my own, for I have not grokked the
Ubuntu way.  Some of my queries have never been answered, and I suspect that
perhaps my verbose postings got in the way of what I was trying to ask.  I
pulled hair out, and bit the bullet.  Finally I have been able to figure out
what was going on at least to the extent of getting back on track.  Almost
always.

I recognize it is true that Gentoo users are more clueful, but when I was
clueless, and that was many times, I received polite answers---usually
immediately---from users who really knew what the problem was.  And never
even one time have I seen an RTFM.  Never did I see clueless answers either
in a howto or on the list.  At least part of this might be professionality.


I hope these comments are taken as constructive.


On Thu, Jun 12, 2008 at 12:06 AM, Derek Broughton <news at pointerstop.ca>
wrote:
You are correct, the Ubuntu Wiki is pretty amazing.

>
>
> I'd disagree about the bug system - it may take you a while to learn
> Launchpad, but my experience is that it _is_ up-to-date and useful.
>

I think you are correct again, I have not figured out how to use it.

>
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-- 
Alan
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