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Date:      Tue, 13 Jul 2004 16:47:53 -0400
From:      epilogue <epilogue@allstream.net>
To:        Jason Dusek <jason-dusek@uiowa.edu>
Cc:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Mozilla Java Plug-In
Message-ID:  <20040713164753.450e4935@localhost>
In-Reply-To: <40F439BB.50303@uiowa.edu>
References:  <40F421FF.4070303@uiowa.edu> <20040713141108.55f944d1@localhost> <40F439BB.50303@uiowa.edu>

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On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 14:36:27 -0500
Jason Dusek <jason-dusek@uiowa.edu> wrote:

> Well, thank you for pointing me at the mailing search utility. I didn't
> know about it. The Handbook is often dated - for example the discussion
> of installing Mathematica is totally erroneous.

would be good of you to drop a line to the docs list to point out exactly
what parts you feel are erroneous.

about the handbook being dated.  well, much of what we want do under unix
is fairly dated.  nevertheless, you'll often find articles from years back
which still apply today.

do you keep your docs up to date?  you know that you can do that,
in much the same way as you update your ports?  here's a decent link to
keep you busy:

http://www.bsdnews.org/02/freebsd_doc.php

if you decide to poke around this site, _please_ be wary of instructions
given at http://www.bsdnews.org/03/bsd_update.php.  though they can work in
the short term, they go against official recommendations by the freebsd
project and can end up causing serious breakage over the long term.

> What is an OP?

OP = original poster.

another point, if you'll indulge me.

taken from http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions:

### This is the mailing list for questions about FreeBSD. You should not
send "how to" questions to the technical lists unless you consider the
question to be pretty technical. ###

over time, you too will probably find it a tad frustrating to see people
post 'please-hold-my-hand' style questions when it is obvious that they
haven't invested the barest modicum of effort into searching for the
answers themselves.  (and perhaps i just need a vacation)

there is nothing that can be done to prevent 'the same questions' from
being asked but to educate users on the tools available to them and to
encourage the development of a measure of autonomy.  though the list is
under no obligation to answer 'any' questions, you'll note that 'repeated'
questions tend to get answered anyway.  (myself guilty of this until nudged
in the right direction)  many people are very understanding that way.  hey,
indulging newbies is an important way of welcoming them into the community
and it gives newer posters (like moi) a chance to answer simple questions.

yet, the more users can fend for themselves when it comes to basic
questions (gee, i wonder if anyone else ever tried to do 'x', well, i'll
have a look...), the more the list can focus on crafting solutions to
complicated and challenging problems which help build and strengthen our
collective knowledge base, which is the list archive.

always your closest friends:
   (o)  the handbook
   (o)  the mailing list archives (one for each list)
   (o)  google
   (o)  any bsd books you've purchased

when those let you down and you find yourself in dire straights:
   (o)  freebsd-questions

lastly, i have found that one tends to get better results when one shows
what one has already tried (ie. what work has done).  if one has done
nothing, it is time for them to consult their closest friends, not the
list.

please note that i do not speak for the list.

dearest list, if i'm am waaaay off base here, please chastise me.

apologies if i come off as harsh, crusty, pugnacious, or pedantic. 
my intention was only to counsel.     ;)


all the best,
epi

p.s.  added the list back in cc only to share my rant (er, these
suggestions) with others.

> - Jason
> 
> epilogue wrote:
> > On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 12:55:11 -0500
> > Jason Dusek <jason-dusek@uiowa.edu> wrote:
> > 
> > 
> >>Hi,
> >>
> >>How do I set up the java-vm plugin for Mozilla?
> > 
> > 
> > did you even bother to pay a visit to
> > http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-questions/   (?!)
> > 
> > try typing "java mozilla vm" or "java mozilla plugin" or similar into
> > that cute little search field, then click the magic 'search' button?
> > 
> > what about the handbook page which covers this?
> > http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/desktop-browsers.html
> > 
> > dude, the knowledge base is available 24/7 and just waiting to do your
> > bidding.
> > 
> > /me removes spoon from OPs mouth and firmly pushes same out of nest.
> > 
> >  
> > 
> >>- Jason
> >>_______________________________________________
> >>freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list
> >>http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions
> >>To unsubscribe, send any mail to
> >>"freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org"
> >>
> 



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