| Linux Resources, Help and Some Links | ||
| Part 2 of the Linux Newbie Administrator Guide | ||
2.5 NewsgroupsThis can be an intimidating place to be--the world's strangest wackos seem to be all represented in the newsgroups. I just choose to ignore the stupid or offensive postings or e-mails. For the malicious ones, I make an exception and inform the system administrator at their originating e-mail provider. Advertisements which I receive after posting to a newsgroup get deleted before reading--I know I am not the only one doing this, so please mark your subject line clearly if you want your e-mail to be read, particularly if your e-mail address contains the string "aol".Despite their drawbacks, newsgroups can be a very efficient way of finding the information you need. Before going to the newsgroups, I would highly recommend the Google news archives (http://groups.google.com/ , once known as DejaNews). This is a huge archive of newsgroup postings and you can search it using nice search tools. This way, you can often find an answer to your question without going through tons of trash, and without exposing yourself to anger after posting a question which "was already asked ten times this week". You may be surprised by the amount of information available through the google archive. There are several newsgroups devoted to Linux and they seem much better than other newsgroups (maybe they are better policed by the Linux experts?). Here is a short list: news:comp.os.linux.announce (moderated--the postings are done by a moderator, who reviews them prior to the posting. Inspect the footer of any message for info on how to post.) news:comp.os.linux.setup news:comp.os.linux.hardware news:comp.os.linux.security news:comp.os.linux.misc (miscellaneous) news:comp.os.linux.advocacy (Use this one for discussion of pros and cons of Linux and perhaps a comparison of Linux with other operating systems. This is an excellent newsgroup if you like getting into endless arguments). news:alt.linux.sux (Here you can read/write really all opinions on Linux.) news:comp.os.linux.networking news:comp.os.linux.x (X-windows) news:comp.os.unix (general UNIX newsgroup) Please note that there is a newsgroup etiquette ("netiquette"), and you risk rejection and perhaps expose yourself to flames if you choose to break it. The major points:
For news reading, I prefer knode& (type in the X terminal). Installation and learning newsgroups was certainly worth my effort. Next > 2.6 Any Linux Internet links?
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