Chapter 2: Getting More Help

As thick as this book is, it can't possibly cover everything you might need to know. After all, UNIX itself has a 30−year heritage, BSD UNIX is over 20 years old, and FreeBSD is pushing 10. Even if you memorize this book, it won't be enough to cover every possible situation.

The FreeBSD project maintains a wide variety of information resources, including numerous FreeBSD mailing lists, the http://www.freebsd.org/ Web site, the Handbook, the FAQ, man pages, and assorted user Web sites. The flood of information can be overwhelming and difficult to wade through. But before you send a question to a mailing list, make sure that the information you want isn't already available in one of these resources.

Why Not Mail First?

The FreeBSD mailing lists are excellent resources for technical support. Many people who frequent them are very knowledgeable and can answer your questions very quickly. But remember: When you mail a question to a FreeBSD mailing list, you are requesting that one or more people take the time to help you rather than watch a favorite TV show, enjoy dinner with family, or catch up on sleep. Problems arise when these experts answer the same question 10, 50, or even 100 times, or more. They become grumpy. Some get downright cranky.

What makes matters worse is that these same people have spent a great deal of time making the answers to most of these questions available elsewhere. If you make it clear that you have accessed the various information resources the FreeBSD project makes available, and your answer really can't be found there, you will probably receive a polite, helpful answer. However, if you ask a question that has been answered several hundred times already, the expert on that topic just might snap and go bonkers on you.

Also, remember that the FreeBSD project only maintains FreeBSD. If you're having trouble with some other piece of software, a FreeBSD mailing list is not the place to ask advice. FreeBSD developers are generally proficient in a variety of software; but that doesn't mean that they want to help you, say, configure the WindowMaker X window manager—harass the folks who handle WindowMaker instead.

Do your homework, and chances are you will get an answer more quickly than the mailing list can provide.

The FreeBSD Attitude

To use FreeBSD successfully, you'll need to do a bit of homework.

"Homework? What do you mean, homework? Am I back in school? What do you want, burnt offerings on bended knee?" Yes, you are back in school. With FreeBSD, even the teachers are still in school. Burnt offerings, on the other hand, are difficult to transmit digitally, and really aren't relevant today.

Commercial operating systems such as Windows 9x/NT conceal their inner workings. The only access you have to the computer are the options presented by the GUI, plus a few command−line tools that are almost an afterthought. Even if you want to learn how something works, you can't. When something breaks, you have little choice but to phone the vendor and grovel for help. Worse,

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