Date: Sun, 07 Jul 1996 01:54:43 -0400 From: Gary Chrysler <tcg@ime.net> To: James Raynard <fqueries@jraynard.demon.co.uk> Cc: questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Ports suggestion Message-ID: <31DF5123.97B@ime.net> References: <199607061328.NAA01019@jraynard.demon.co.uk>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
James Raynard wrote: > > > Something I find very very annoying as a Newbie. > > pkg_add a package, It drops ya right back to the prompt without > > a clue on what to do next! > > Yep, this is "the Unix way" - you only get a message if the user needs > to be informed about something unusual (a program working correctly is > not regarded as unusual under Unix :-) > Ok, I'll buy that, And go for it! No news is Good news. :) less, is good example here, No setup needed! > > "man xxxxx" is a standard Unix-ism for finding out how to use > something; Unix programs generally assume that the user knows how to > use Unix :-) > Is it not in the best intrest of FreeBSD to encurage New users? We all had/have to start someplace! A simple 1 line: `See man xxxx(x) for documentation`, would point the new user in the right direction. xxxx(x) is not always easy to determine with some packages. New users (at least I do) spend more time trying to find documentation then reading installing and configuring the package. Not a way to encurage people! An example: wu-ftpd package, pkg_info tells a bit about what needs to be done, (Thanks whomever) But it does NOT tell a person where to find further info! It spews line after line of BRAG and never tells a person where to find further help! Heck, The samples are not even commented! `man wu-ftpd` results are: No manual entry! Apache, is nice, It tells you where to find help. albeit worthless if one does not have a connection to the internet! > If the package has some information in a different place, then I would > certainly agree that there should be a message to that effect, eg > > "Sample configuration files for the gronkleblaster are in the > /usr/local/share/gronkleblaster directory. These need to be customised > for your site before attempting to run the gronkleblaster." > Amen.. > The "See pkg_info" information should really go in the Handbook entry > on packages (has anyone got round to writing one yet?) as it's the > same for all packages. > There is mention of the pkg_* commands, suffecient I belive! My point was to stay one step ahead of the user by pointing to the documentation. The pointer to the documentation could be displayed in the pkg_info infofile. Some do, some don't, All should! I would think this would also be good for the Team by helping to prevent some of these repetious questions. -Enjoy Gary ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Improve America's Knowledge... Share yours The Borg... Where minds meet (207) 929-3848
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?31DF5123.97B>