◼ Read the obvious documentation first. Things like command
options and what a command does will be covered there. This
includes manpages and info documentation.
◼ Check the HOWTO documents if your question is about setting up
something such as PPP or Ethernet.
◼ Try to be sure the answer isn’t in this book.
◼ Don’t be afraid to ask, after you’ve made a basic effort to look
it up.
◼ Don’t be afraid to ask for conceptual explanations, advice, and
other things not often found in the documentation.
◼ Include any information that seems relevant. You’ll almost
always want to mention the version of Debian you’re using. You may
also want to mention the version of any pertinent packages: The
command dpkg -l _packagename_ will tell you this. It’s also useful
to say what you’ve tried so far and what happened. Please include
the exact error messages, if any.
◼ Don’t apologize for being new to Linux. There’s no reason
everyone should be a GNU/Linux expert to use it, any more than
everyone should be a mechanic to use a car.
◼ Don’t post or mail in HTML. Some versions of Netscape and
Internet Explorer will post in HTML rather than plain text. Most
people will not even read these posts because the posts are
difficult to read in most mail programs. There should be a setting
somewhere in the preferences to disable HTML.
◼ Be polite. Remember that Debian is an all-volunteer effort, and
anyone who helps you is doing so on his or her time out of
kindness.
◼ Re-mail your question to the list if you’ve gotten no responses
after several days. Perhaps there were lots of messages and it was
overlooked. Or perhaps no one knows the answer—if no one answers
the second time, this is a good bet. You might want to try
including more information the second time.
◼ Answer questions yourself when you know the answer. Debian
depends on everyone doing his or her part. If you ask a question,
and later on someone else asks the same question, you’ll know how
to answer it. Do so!