New kind of helpthread?

pkslot · 06-02-2007

Well, i often find help in the howto's, but sometime i just need a little more info on an installation, before i begin. Maybe this belongs in the ubuntuforums.org, but i thought that i would ask for people's oppinions here instead.

We got HOWTO, we got FAQ, but what about a WHATIF?

I mean, a thread where you can find tips of when you install something.

For an instance, i recently installed a low latency kernel on ubuntu 7.04, but i was quite unaware of what would happen when i did so.

It turned out that this installation fixed some other problems, that i had sort of given up on. The low latency kernel was recommended to me, to fix the midi problem when using rosegarden, but it also fixed my usb problem, ie the os chrashed every time i plugged an usb device in, while running ubuntu.

So i thought of a thread that looked something like:

WHATIF: Low latency kernel!

Fixes:
Midi problem in rosegarden
Chrash on hotplugging USB devices

Problems caused:

Etc. etc.
Something
Something

------------

I think maybe this would help newcomers to ubuntu a little bit more, when they know the good's and bad's. But what do you think about it. Is it good for nothing, or is it an idea that can be of any use?

bns · 06-02-2007

Hmmm... I think there's an attempt to incorporate that kind of information in both Howtos and FAQs, but splitting it off has some potential benefits. I think some stuff is just so specific that there's no way to put it down somewhere, it just has to be dealt with on a case by case basis. The gap between expert-knowledge and help documents is pretty wide, which is why the forums are so useful.

I don't know. If it was well done, it could be pretty useful. We'll see what others have to say.

chiefbutz · 06-02-2007

I think just a general computer help section might be good. But that is just my opinion.

Conficio · 06-24-2007

I'd love to see this kind of help thread as an aggregation of all knowledge that could be the cause of a particular error message.

I'd love to see the answer to "What can be wrong, if you see ... error message?"

This way I could backtrack which of the possible causes for the error message fits my context and see if the same fix works for me too.

Just my 2 cents

K<o>

Extreme Coder · 06-25-2007

I think you're idea is more like a guide.. ?

06-02-2007	#1 (permalink)
pkslot Eligible for a custom title Join Date: May 2007 Location: Denmark Posts: 309	New kind of helpthread? Well, i often find help in the howto's, but sometime i just need a little more info on an installation, before i begin. Maybe this belongs in the ubuntuforums.org, but i thought that i would ask for people's oppinions here instead. We got HOWTO, we got FAQ, but what about a WHATIF? I mean, a thread where you can find tips of when you install something. For an instance, i recently installed a low latency kernel on ubuntu 7.04, but i was quite unaware of what would happen when i did so. It turned out that this installation fixed some other problems, that i had sort of given up on. The low latency kernel was recommended to me, to fix the midi problem when using rosegarden, but it also fixed my usb problem, ie the os chrashed every time i plugged an usb device in, while running ubuntu. So i thought of a thread that looked something like: WHATIF: Low latency kernel! Fixes: Midi problem in rosegarden Chrash on hotplugging USB devices Problems caused: Etc. etc. Something Something ------------ I think maybe this would help newcomers to ubuntu a little bit more, when they know the good's and bad's. But what do you think about it. Is it good for nothing, or is it an idea that can be of any use?
	..........And on the first night, god made coffee!

06-02-2007	#2 (permalink)
bns Moderator Join Date: May 2007 Location: Indiana, USA Posts: 1,648	Re: New kind of helpthread? Hmmm... I think there's an attempt to incorporate that kind of information in both Howtos and FAQs, but splitting it off has some potential benefits. I think some stuff is just so specific that there's no way to put it down somewhere, it just has to be dealt with on a case by case basis. The gap between expert-knowledge and help documents is pretty wide, which is why the forums are so useful. I don't know. If it was well done, it could be pretty useful. We'll see what others have to say.

06-02-2007	#3 (permalink)
chiefbutz The Coding Wraith Join Date: May 2007 Location: United States Posts: 155	Re: New kind of helpthread? I think just a general computer help section might be good. But that is just my opinion.
	My Homepage "What man is a man who does not make the world better?" - Balian of Ibelin (Kingdome of Heaven)

06-24-2007	#4 (permalink)
Conficio Just getting started Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 7	Re: New kind of helpthread? I'd love to see this kind of help thread as an aggregation of all knowledge that could be the cause of a particular error message. I'd love to see the answer to "What can be wrong, if you see ... error message?" This way I could backtrack which of the possible causes for the error message fits my context and see if the same fix works for me too. Just my 2 cents K<o>
	Blogging and publishing screencasts about OpenOffice.org

06-25-2007	#5 (permalink)
Extreme Coder ^_^; Join Date: May 2007 Location: Cairo,Egypt Posts: 1,203	Re: New kind of helpthread? I think you're idea is more like a guide.. ?