[ale] more memory, bigger swap? (fwd)

[Eric]

Linux Installation and Getting Started is free:
http://sunsite.unc.edu/mdw/LDP/gs.html
If you have been using Linux for a while and haven't read it yet, you
will probably find it very interesting. 

I find myself wishing that people would try to look at the documentation
before posting to the list.  I don't think anyone minds questions like:

 "I looked in (this FAQ) and (that HOWTO) and couldn't find the (answer
  to the question)" 

But it is bothersome to me when people ask questions on the list that they
could find with just a quick look into a man page, the documentation,
or the system log:

 Q: "I can't get my <X> to work! "
 A: "Did you compile the driver into the kernel and look in your system 
     startup message? (dmesg)"

Reveals the answer about 90% of the time. 
 
For newbies to Linux, an answer to the question and where to find the
docs is certainly appropriate.  For people who have been using linux for
6 months to a year - they ought to know where to dig first.   When you
fire up your mail reader Monday morning, do you see 10 messages on the
ALE list from the same person... most of whose problems are solved after
they break down and actually read a HOWTO?  Those are the posts I'm
talking about. 

(No, I did not send the nasty note to Geoff)

-Eric.

Michael David Ivey writes:
 > 
 > Documentation?  This isn't part of the documentation for Linux.  It's a 
 > commercial book.  Are we all expected to read EVERY piece of information 
 > written about every aspect?  I know that I have found ALE to be the best 
 > source for info I have found yet....questions that remain unanswered in 
 > FAQs, and also just damn good opinions and advice.  I am glad that my 
 > stupid questions have received decent responses, and in fact, the reason 
 > my machine is up and running is because of the people here on ALE.  
 > Thanks alot, all of you.   And geof....keep asking questions.  Maybe I'll 
 > even be able to answer one some day.
 > 
 >  
 > Michael Ivey, Director of Computer Operations   |  ivey at gsu.edu
 > Georgia State Television                        |  http://gstv.gsu.edu/~ivey
 >                             
 > Key to UNIX:
 > perl -e 'print $i=pack(c5,(41*2),sqrt(7056),(unpack(c,H)-2),oct(115),10);'
 >