RE: [cobalt-users] Proposed meta-FAQ / "read before posting" article.

[<rpaiz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Wonderful idea. Some suggestions:

> 0.  Do not be afraid to ask questions.  There are helpful people here.
> Nobody got born with this knowledge - and we are all still learning.

...was born...

> 2.  The chances are that you are not the first person to have 
> asked your
> question.  In the case of Cobalt's products, the answers are 
> archived in 
> the Knowledge Base and in the mailing list archives.  Check 
> those resources,
> and learn how to search the Web for answers on non-Cobalt 
> specific questions.
> When you post, indicate that you have tried these avenues - 
> people are 
> much more willing to help those who try to help themselves first.
> Invest in some books; and don't expect the list to do your 
> job for you.

Put the actual links/instructions in here. Not just to the Cobalt
archives, but to Google and The AIMS Group. (Both of those work
better than the Cobalt versions, too.)

> 3.4. Do not top-post.  That is to say, when replying to a post, give 
> context to your post in the form of just enough quoted material, 
> and put your response *after* the quoted material.  Again, 
> consider the 
> effect top-posting has on the digest form of the list, and 
> consider how 
> when you were searching the archives (as you were, remember?) 
> the most 
> useful replies were the ones that came *after* the question.  Further 
> argument about this point can be referred to RFC 1855 and just about 
> every guide to newsgroup and mailing list ettiquette ever written.
> It is not a "personal preference".  It is a standard.

Also, if there are multiple questions, intersperse your answers.

> 3.6. Read your post through before sending, and check for 
> spelling, grammar, 
> and layout.  The easier it is to read, the more likely people 
> are to respond.
> 
> 3.7. Don't criticise someone else's spelling and grammar.

...don't criticize anyone, unless you're trying to help. Then, do
it nicely.

Also, why is there no "Don't flame" rule/suggestion?

> 4.  Do not assume that everybody lives in the same country.

Someone asked why this was relevant. It is for many reasons. Use
of libraries changes with languages, versions of Qubes and software
change with countries, and even bandwidth has different costs. For
example, there was recently an argument about "wasting bandwidth."
And while I agree that there's plenty of bandwidth in the USA for
cheap, elsewhere this is not true. Many countries pay a per-minute
cost even for local telephony, and two years ago I was paying more
than US$20,000 *monthly* for a T-1 in Guatemala. And while that has
gone down, many countries still deal with situations like that.

-- 
Rodolfo J. Paiz
rpaiz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:rpaiz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>