<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
 <META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="SGML-Tools 1.0.7">
 <TITLE>Linux Frequently Asked Questions with Answers: How to get further assistance. </TITLE>
 <LINK HREF="Linux-FAQ-13.html" REL=next>
 <LINK HREF="Linux-FAQ-11.html" REL=previous>
 <LINK HREF="Linux-FAQ.html#toc12" REL=contents>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<A HREF="Linux-FAQ-13.html"><IMG SRC="next.gif" ALT="Next"></A>
<A HREF="Linux-FAQ-11.html"><IMG SRC="prev.gif" ALT="Previous"></A>
<A HREF="Linux-FAQ.html#toc12"><IMG SRC="toc.gif" ALT="Contents"></A>
<HR>
<H2><A NAME="How to get further assistance."></A> <A NAME="s12">12. How to get further assistance. </A></H2>

<P>
<P>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<P>
<H2><A NAME="You still haven't answered my question!"></A> <A NAME="ss12.1">12.1 You still haven't answered my question! </A>
</H2>

<P>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?
<P>If you think an answer is incomplete or inaccurate, please e-mail Robert
Kiesling at 
<A HREF="mailto:kiesling@terracom.net">kiesling@terracom.net</A>.
<P>Read the appropriate Linux Documentation Project books--see 
``
<A HREF="Linux-FAQ-2.html#Where can I get the HOWTO's and other documentation?">Where can I get the HOWTO's and other documentation?</A>
''
<P>
<P>If you're a Unix newbie, read the FAQ for comp.unix.questions, and those
for any of the other comp.unix.* groups that may be relevant.
<P>Linux has so much in common with commercial Unices, that almost
everything you read there will apply to Linux.  The FAQs, like all
FAQs, be found on rtfm.mit.edu in /pub/usenet/news.answers (the
<A HREF="mailto:mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu">mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu</A> 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, posted,
or look in news-answers/introduction in the directory above.
<P>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.
<P>Try experimenting--that's the best way to get to know Unix and Linux.
<P>Read the documentation.  Check the manual pages (type ``man man'' if
you don't know about manual pages.  Try ``man -k subject''--it often
lists useful and relevant manual pages.
<P>Check the Info documentation (type C-h i, i.e. Control H followed by I
in Emacs).  This isn't just for Emacs.  For example, the GCC
documentation lives here as well.
<P>There will also often be a README file with a package that gives installation
and/or usage instructions.
<P>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.
<P>Read comp.os.linux.announce--this often contains very important
information for all Linux users.
<P>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.
<P>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.  ``(
<A HREF="#What to put in a request for help.">What to put in a request for help.</A>
)''
<P>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<P>
<H2><A NAME="What to put in a request for help."></A> <A NAME="ss12.2">12.2 What to put in a request for help. </A>
</H2>

<P>Please read the following advice carefully about how to write your
posting or email.  Making a complete posting will greatly increase the
chances that an expert or fellow user reading it will have enough
information and motivation to reply.
<P>This advice applies both to postings asking for advice and to personal
email sent to experts and fellow users.
<P>Make sure you give full details of the problem, including:
<UL>
<LI>What program, exactly, you are having problems with.  Include the
version number if known and say where you got it.  Many standard
commands tell you their version number if you give them 
a <CODE>--version</CODE> option.
</LI>
<LI>Which Linux release you're using (Red Hat, Slackware, Debian, or
whatever) and what version of that release.
</LI>
<LI>The exact and complete text of any error messages printed.
</LI>
<LI>Exactly what behavior you expected, and exactly what behavior
you observed.  A transcript of an example session is a good way to
show this.
</LI>
<LI>The contents of any configuration files used by the program in question
and any related programs.
</LI>
<LI>What version of the kernel and shared libraries you have installed.
The kernel version can be found by typing uname -a, and the shared
library version by typing ls -l /lib/libc.so.4.
</LI>
<LI>Details of what hardware you're running on, if it seems appropriate.</LI>
</UL>

You are in little danger of making your posting too long unless you
include large chunks of source code or uuencoded files, so err on the side
of giving too much information.
<P>Use a clear, detailed Subject line.  Don't put things like `doesn't work',
`Linux', `help', or `question' in it--we already know that. Save the
space for the name of the program, a fragment of an error message,
or summary of the unusual behavior.
<P>If you report an `unable to handle kernel paging request' message,
follow the instructions in the Linux kernel sources README file for
turning the numbers into something more meaningful.  If you don't do
this, no one who reads your post will be able to do it for you.  The
mapping from numbers to function names varies from one kernel to
another.
<P>Put a summary paragraph at the top of your posting.
<P>At the bottom of your posting, ask for responses by email and say
you'll post a summary.  Back this up by using Followup-To: poster.
Then, actually post the summary in a few days or a week or so.  Don't
just concatenate the replies you got--summarize.  Putting the word
SUMMARY in your summary's Subject line is also a good idea.  Consider
submitting the summary to comp.os.linux.announce.
<P>Make sure your posting doesn't have an inappropriate References: header
line.  This marks your article as part of the thread of the article
referred to, which will often cause it to be junked by readers, along
with the rest of a boring thread.
<P>You might like to say in your posting that you've read this FAQ and the
appropriate HOWTO's--this may make people less likely to skip your
posting.
<P>Remember that you should not post email sent to you personally without the
sender's permission.
<P>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<P>
<H2><A NAME="I want to mail someone about my problem."></A> <A NAME="ss12.3">12.3 I want to mail someone about my problem. </A>
</H2>

<P>Try to find the author or developer of whatever program or component is
causing you difficulty.  If you have a contact point for your Linux
distribution, you should use it.
<P>Please put everything in your e-mail message that you would put in a
posting asking for help.
<P>Finally, remember that, despite the fact that most of the Linux community
are very helpful and responsive to e-mailed questions, you're asking for
help from unpaid volunteers, so you have no right to expect an answer.
<P>===============================================================================
<HR>
<A HREF="Linux-FAQ-13.html"><IMG SRC="next.gif" ALT="Next"></A>
<A HREF="Linux-FAQ-11.html"><IMG SRC="prev.gif" ALT="Previous"></A>
<A HREF="Linux-FAQ.html#toc12"><IMG SRC="toc.gif" ALT="Contents"></A>
</BODY>
</HTML>
