Return-Path: <linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org>
Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand
        id <S129392AbQKVVHI>; Wed, 22 Nov 2000 16:07:08 -0500
Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org
        id <S129470AbQKVVG6>; Wed, 22 Nov 2000 16:06:58 -0500
Received: from [209.143.110.29] ([209.143.110.29]:15370 "HELO
        mail.the-rileys.net") by vger.kernel.org with SMTP
        id <S129392AbQKVVGt>; Wed, 22 Nov 2000 16:06:49 -0500
Message-ID: <3A1C2E18.4A68FEBF@the-rileys.net>
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 15:35:39 -0500
From: David Riley <oscar@the-rileys.net>
X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.74 (Macintosh; U; PPC)
X-Accept-Language: en,pdf
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: Jeff Epler <jepler@inetnebr.com>
CC: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: Defective Red Hat Distribution poorly represents Linux
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.30.0011212330130.3193-100000@toor.thn.htu.se> <3A1B028B.94F3A221@the-rileys.net> <20001121212820.A4625@potty.housenet>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org
X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org

Jeff Epler wrote:
> Well, a copy of that document *is* the first hit for a google search on
> 'linux signal 11 faq'
>         http://www.google.com/search?q=linux+signal+11+faq
> 
> In other words, someone who does the slightest bit of research will
> find the answer.

Perhaps, but if a new user starts using linux and his/her machine is
randomly crashing (not always showing the number 11 anywhere in the
error messages, mind you) the first thing they look for won't be "linux
signal 11 faq".  They'd look for something like "random linux crashes"
or "constant linux crashes" or something to that effect.  Try these on
for size...

<http://www.google.com/search?q=random+linux+crashes>
This one goes six entries before it even comes upon a similar hardware
problem (though to be fair, the report of this problem was far more
intelligent than the one that started this thread) and that is full of
stack traces and cryptic things that a newbie wouldn't even pretend to
understand.  A few years ago, I would have run away screaming from that report.

<http://www.google.com/search?q=constant+linux+crashes>
The first link from this search points to a forum on linuxsucks.org. 
Not what we want newbies looking at...  Some of the posts on the forum
bemoan the lack of documentation for linux.

I think the "slightest bit of research" is a lot different for
experienced Linux users than for those who come from Windoze or MacOS. 
Someone suggested to me that one could put such info on the default page
of the brower in the distribution (the one on the local disk in case of
RedHat, etc), perhaps in the "troubleshooting" section.  That sounds
like a good idea to me.

It also occurs to me that a discussion of documentation belongs on
another list unless it pertains to kernel documentation.  I'll try to
make this my last post.
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/