Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 11:37:55 -0600 (CST) From: Brennan Stehling <brennan@offwhite.net> To: richard childers <fscked@pacbell.net> Cc: Ted Mittelstaedt <tedm@toybox.placo.com>, Aaron Hill <hillaa@hotmail.com>, gferris@mail.unam.na, freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Pimping FreeBSD Information (was: 'Order') Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0102271058270.70363-100000@home.offwhite.net> In-Reply-To: <3A9BC4C1.ABD81182@pacbell.net>
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Actually, Ted did send me a free copy of the book. It has a good deal of
useful information in it, especially if you are stuck in a windows world.
And as for the rest of what you had to say, I would only hope that there
could be more people writing books. An author may make money off a book,
but if they spent the time to gather the information and put together a
comprehensive book, I think they deserve it.
The problem with Open Source and the idea that it is free, is that it does
cost in time to learn, configure and maintain. Deverlopers also are
not the best technical writers, so sometimes you have to actually read
the code, which is not an option for many people. Good books bring down
the overall cost of running Open Source systems like Sendmail, Bind,
FreeBSD and Apache. I typically buy O'Reilly books as they are written by
the very same people who write the software, but it is so hard to find
good BSD books.
As for Tim's book, I had trouble figuring out how to set up natd. And
last night I was at Barnes and Noble and I paged through the The Complete
FreeBSD, the community written book. It was little help with this natd as
well. And online resources offer little more help, including mailing
lists such as this. We need more authors who take the time and the money
to set up a few computers and test their example configurations and then
compile all of that information into a great book which lets me administer
all of my FreeBSD servers with more ease than without the book.
(not a shameless plug, trust me)
I created GreasyDaemon.com for that very reason. I could not find the
information that I needed easily. I was typically going to FreeBSD.org
and doing searching... then to FreeBSDDiary.org and other sites,
searching in vain to find the information I needed to use to get my job
done. Ultimately I decided to create a search engine that everyone can
use. Do I make money off it? No. I actually lose money by running the
GD website, but that is ok. I actually find it very useful myself, and
others tell me they also find it useful. It is great time saver.
But in the end, the search index does not include every bit of
information that someone may need. I feel there is a bit to be desired
when it comes to documentation. I have been trying to do something about
this. I have written a little documentation on GD which then provides
links to more indepth content. Many new users do not know what NAT
is. They think it is IP Aliasing or something else. The docs on my site
act only as overviews to give newbies the buzz words so they can learn the
initial terminology and then read on with sites like FreeBSDDiary.org
which provides a great deal of useful content. (my favorite site actually)
And if you compare a book to online docs, you may notice that the quality
of books is better. They do more research and put more time into it. The
topic summaries that I have on GD are usually written in a few hours and
then I revise them as I get feedback. But if I were to write a book, I
would likely do much more research and gather many more examples and
configurations that would make the book even more complete.
I can only hope that more people take some of their time to start the
process of writing a book... here is the process if you are so inclined.
1) Know your topic
2) Decide on the scope of a book and the content
3) Contact a publisher and submit your proposal for your topic
4) Write a great book.
5) Edit the book (revise, revise, review)
6) Get the book published.
7) Hope it sells enough to make a dent in your energy bill.
Publishers like Wesley-Addison and O'Reilly will take your submissions and
will work with you to produce your book. Linux Torvalds re-coins the
phrase just right.... "Just do it!" Do not complain about the problem, do
something to resolve it. I think Jordon Hubbard would agree with that
sentiment.
You could also write for the Daemon News site and print magazine. A
magazine is a good stepping stone if you are considering writing a
book. If you would like to write an article, drop an email
editors@daemonnews.org. It is quite easy, and I think you may like seeing
your name in print.
Bottom line, you do not have to write the software to write the
documentation. But if the documentation is incomplete, that makes the
software incomplete. View the manpage on qpopper and try to learn how all
the command-line switches are supposed to work. Figuring it out takes
time. Time better spent doing other stuff... like playing Starcraft.
Brennan Stehling - software developer and system administrator
my projects:
home.offwhite.net (free personal hosting)
www.greasydaemon.com (bsd search)
On Tue, 27 Feb 2001, richard childers wrote:
> Maybe you should offer to send free copies to people ... or quote from your
> book, instead of just referring to it.
>
> I've seen two references to this book ... two attempts to pander it, to pimp
> it, to sell it, to drum up orders for it ... but I don's see you, Ted,
> contributing any expertise. Just sales advertisements.
>
> Maybe I'm wrong ... maybe you've offered help, quoted copiously from the
> book, time and again. Maybe there are entire chapters posted somewhere where
> people can read them, and use them, without lining your pockets.
>
> If I am, I'm sure others - not you, Ted - will inform me. And I will duly
> apologize.
>
> But so far you seem indistinguishable from any other parasite whom has
> latched upon another's free software as a way to make money.
>
> ... So, distinguish yourself. Post some free material. Quit pandering. Answer
> some questions or go away. Quit pushing your pathetic book.
>
> Where did you get your information? From the net ... for free ... of course.
>
> 'Nuff sed.
>
>
> -- richard
>
>
> Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:
>
> > Maybe you should read the book and tell us an unbiased
> > opinion of it. ;-)
> >
> > Ted Mittelstaedt tedm@toybox.placo.com
> > Author of: The FreeBSD Corporate Networker's Guide
> > Book website: http://www.freebsd-corp-net-guide.com
> >
> > >-----Original Message-----
> > >From: richard childers [mailto:fscked@pacbell.net]
> > >Sent: Monday, February 26, 2001 10:07 PM
> > >To: Ted Mittelstaedt
> > >Cc: Aaron Hill; gferris@mail.unam.na; freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG
> > >Subject: Re: Order
> > >
> > >
> > >And we all know how much a referral from the author is worth, relatively
> > >speaking ...
> > >
> > >-- richard
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:
> > >
> > >> >From: owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG
> > >> >[mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG]On Behalf Of Aaron Hill
> > >> >
> > >> >Gail,
> > >> >
> > >> >
> > >> >Also, please look through that Internet site mentioned as you
> > >will find it
> > >> >offers other titles than just the FreeBSD manual. One such example
> > >> >is a book
> > >> >titled The Complete FreeBSD which many people on this mailing list
> > >> >use, you
> > >> >can find this book (with CDs) by following this link...
> > >> >
> > >> >http://www.wccdrom.com/titles/freebsd/bsdcomp.phtml
> > >> >
> > >> >
> > >>
> > >> Or The FreeBSD Corporate Networker's Guide, my book, which HAS a 4.2
> > >> FreeBSD CDROM included. It is also available overseas - see the
> > >> website for a list of bookstores.
> > >>
> > >> Ted Mittelstaedt tedm@toybox.placo.com
> > >> Author of: The FreeBSD Corporate Networker's Guide
> > >> Book website: http://www.freebsd-corp-net-guide.com
> > >>
> > >> To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org
> > >> with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
> > >
> > >--
> > >Richard A. Childers
> > >Senor UNIX Administrator
> > >fscked@pacbell.net (email)
> > >203.556.8471 (voice/msgs)
> > >
> > ># Providing administrative expertise (not 'damage control') since 1986.
> > ># PGP fingerprint: 7EFF 164A E878 7B04 8E9F 32B6 72C2 D8A2 582C 4AFA
> > >
> > >
> > >
>
> --
> Richard A. Childers
> Senor UNIX Administrator
> fscked@pacbell.net (email)
> 203.556.8471 (voice/msgs)
>
> # Providing administrative expertise (not 'damage control') since 1986.
> # PGP fingerprint: 7EFF 164A E878 7B04 8E9F 32B6 72C2 D8A2 582C 4AFA
>
>
>
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