top 10 FAQ for Xubuntu site

Tue Jun 21 02:09:20 UTC 2011

On 06/21/2011 12:36 AM, Charlie Kravetz wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Jun 2011 23:51:01 +0300
> Pasi Lallinaho <pasi at shimmerproject.org> wrote:
>
>> On 06/20/2011 11:06 PM, Bruno Benitez wrote:
>>> Hello to all, hope you are having a very nice day.
>>>
>>> First of all thanks to all the people who makes xubuntu, I always
>>> find  this to be one of the greatest linux distros I've tried. So
>>> Thank You All.
>>>
>>>
>>> Now to business, as I've proposed on the #xubuntu-devel channel I
>>> would like if Xubuntu had a "Top 10 FAQ", Why? because I feel that if
>>> a new user comes to an absolute new OS and finds out he can't listen
>>> his music he might go and say, "What?!" and then leave, but if he
>>> would come and see that what he has just installed says to them "Here,
>>> check this top 10 questions to get you started", then he would feel
>>> welcome and will most probably stay.
>> I actually wrote a similar list for 9.04, but main emphasis on
>> problems/bugs rather than actions. You can read that on my blog [1].
>>
>> I also wrote an article about getting support [2], which I think could
>> be used as a base for something similar to use alongside the "Top 10 FAQ".
>>> So I'm proposing this possible, not demandatory, and not even 10,
>>> questions, in no particular order either:
>>>
>>> /How to listen music and play video?
>>> /
>> We are soon going to have an interactive tutorial on the default music
>> player, gmusicbrowser, on the Shimmer Project site [3]. This
>> documentation will be posted to Planet Ubuntu, and is definitely free to
>> use.
>>
>> Video playing should be pretty straightforward, but maybe we could point
>> the users to the applications. One thing that is problematic here is the
>> codecs. Telling users to install xubuntu-restricted-extras fixes this,
>> but somehow I can't make it sound good in my head to tell this in a "how
>> to get started" -style FAQ.
> To be honest, I don' t think we are going to send users all over the
> web to find out how to work applications. We do not do that now,
> instead we spend time explaining how to do it. 
>
> As to codecs, what is the difference between telling a use in #xubuntu
> "install xubuntu-retricted-extras by opening a terminal and typing
> 'sudo apt-get install xubuntu-restricted-extras' vs writing it down for
> them to read?
Sorry, with "point the users to the applications" I meant telling users
which applications are designed for eg. video watching. We could have a
short list of all the (important) default applications.

The difference is that you typoed the command the first time ;) No
seriously, there is no difference, but I would't like to tell a newbie
as the first thing to open a terminal. That scares people away. Is the
package in Software Center? Is there any other way to install it?
>>> /How to install video drivers?
>>> /
>> Aren't these supposed to be installed automatically?
> This depends on the video card. I often have advised new users to go to
> System -> Additional Drivers and install what is there.
>
Right. Can't hurt... But obviously, we should tell the users they
usually do not need any drivers or if they do, they should be normally
installed automatically.
>>> /How to turn sound?
>>> /
>> Sound on, or change the volume?
> Remains to be seen if Oneiric will start muted. I see many users asking
> why the sound is muted, and having to explain "install pavucontrol"  is
> a very easy answer in a FAQ.
>
Yeah.
>>> /How to play DVD's?
>>> /
>> Again, the codec issue. Other than that, it's pretty much the same as
>> playing videos.
> I, for one, do not find this the same. To the best of my memory, you
> don' t even use the same application.
>
I play all of my DVD's and videos with VLC, so I don't know. Looks like
Parole can play DVD's as well, so it is really a matter of teaching one app.

Isn't there even a possibility for DVD autostart?
>>> /How to enable Compiz? (/this is a really usual question on #xubuntu/)
>>> /
>> This is a common question, but AFAIK we don't really support Xfce and
>> Compiz, so it sounds awkward to list this on the FAQ. Posting blog
>> entries about this in personal blogs and then pointing to them might be
>> a good way. There even is some articles about this already, I think.
> I think telling users "yes, you can install compiz and ccsm to Xubuntu"
> is a great idea.
>
As long as we tell them we are not supporting it (as in saying we'll fix
it if it breaks). Or are we?
>>> /How does one move panels? (/this might sound silly, but many people
>>> have asked this at least once, me included/)
>>> /
>> I think this should belong in a Xfce tutorial, which the Xubuntu
>> community could also write, and which could be linked to from the FAQ
> Again, I do not want to send users all over to get help, when it is so
> simple for us to tell them directly. Why should a one or two line
> answer have to be replaced with a one or two line reference to another
> website?
>
There shouldn't be only this one issue in the Xfce tutorial. It could
cover more than what we can fit into our small FAQ, and a link to it
could be FAQ number X.
>>> /How to add new themes?
>>> /
>> Adding new themes is easy, but many times users want to install a Gnome
>> theme (metacity window borders). We might not want to tell a user that
>> he can't do something in our "Top 10 FAQ"
> And where do you learn how to add any theme? What tells the user to
> create ~/.themes or add to /usr/share/themes ?
>
Again, bad choice of words. I meant that it's easy to tell people how to
install themes, but when they try to install a metacity theme, it all
goes really hard, since there really isn't such thing as metacity themes
in Xubuntu.
>>> /Why don't wallpapers stay listed on the xfdesktop-settings?
>>> /
>> 2 comments up; Xfce tutorial.
> Again, do not send Xubuntu users away.
>
>>>
>>> I am also proposing this to be 10 FAQ because that would make them
>>> easy to mantain, and easy to translate to many languages by those
>>> people interested on to it, like me.
>> In order for it to be easily maintainable in terms of translations not
>> getting too old, the FAQ items should probably be as short as possible,
>> without sacrificing clarity.
> A very good point. And if these simple items will help Xubuntu build
> and maintain its user base, that would be fantastic.
>>> Well thats all i guess, have a good day.
>>>
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> Bruno.-
>>>
>> [1]
>> http://open.knome.fi/2009/07/05/panels-disappearing-and-other-frequently-asked-questions/
>> [2] http://open.knome.fi/2009/05/28/getting-support/
>> [3] http://shimmerproject.org/
>>
> Perhaps these can be used as a starting point. But let's get a few more
> people involved.
>


-- 
Pasi Lallinaho                              » http://open.knome.fi/
Leader of the Shimmer Project               » http://shimmerproject.org/
Graphic artist, webdesigner, Ubuntu member  » IRC: knome @ freenode