If this Document Still Hasn't Answered Your Question...

If this Document Still Hasn't Answered Your Question...

Please read all of this answer before posting. I know it's a bit long,
but you may be about to make a fool of yourself in front of 50,000
people and waste hundreds of hours of their time. Don't you think it's
worth spending some of your time to read and follow these
instructions?

If you think an answer is incomplete or inaccurate, please e-mail

Read the appropriate Linux Documentation Project books. Refer to:
("Where Is the Documentation?")

If you're a Unix or Linux newbie, read the FAQ for
comp.unix.questions, news.announces.newusers, and those for any of the
other comp.unix.* groups that may be relevant.

Linux has so much in common with commercial unices, that almost
everything you read there will apply to Linux. The FAQ's, like all
FAQ's, be found on ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/ (the
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu can send you these files, if you don't have
FTP access). There are mirrors of rtfm's FAQ archives on various
sites. Check the Introduction to *.answers posting, or look in
news-answers/introduction in the directory above.

Check the relevant HOWTO for the subject in question, if there is one,
or an appropriate old style sub-FAQ document. Check the FTP sites.

Try experimenting--that's the best way to get to know Unix and Linux.

Read the documentation. Check the manual pages (type man man if you
don't know about manual pages. Also try man -k subject and apropos
subject. They often list useful and relevant, but not very obvious,
manual pages.

Check the Info documentation (type F1-i, i.e. the F1 function key
followed by "i" in Emacs). This isn't just for Emacs. For example, the
GCC documentation lives here as well.

There will also often be a README file with a package that gives
installation and/or usage instructions.

Make sure you don't have a corrupted or out-of-date copy of the
program in question. If possible, download it again and re-install
it--you probably made a mistake the first time.

Read comp.os.linux.announce. It often contains very important
information for all Linux users. General X Window System questions
belong in comp.windows.x.i386unix, not in comp.os.linux.x. But read
the group first (including the FAQ), before you post. Only if you have
done all of these things and are still stuck, should you post to the
appropriate comp.os.linux.* newsgroup. Make sure you read the next
question first. "( What to put in a request for help. )"


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