[AuckLUG] Lots of new "faces"

[Nevyn]

It's occurred to me that there are loads of new people emailing the
mailing list of late. While normally it doesn't seem to occur all of a
sudden like this, people normally sort of get the gist of things here
pretty quickly.

If you've read the message I just posted on AuckLUG you'll have some
idea of what I'm talking about here.

I thought it might be prudent to a) give some idea of the rules and
protocols here and b) perhaps do one of those annoying "My name is
[insert name here], and I'm a member of this mailing list" sort of
threads.

b)'s probably considered off topic but go ahead anyway.

I'm just going to list a couple of quick guidelines - just a few
things that have been annoying me of late.

* When someone asks you to respond if you'd like to participate -
unless you can see it of being to interest to other people on the
list, respond to the person directly - i.e. do not send the response
to AuckLUG or NZLUG etc.

* Top posting and bottom posting are something that some people get
really passionate about. If you're the first to respond to an item,
choose to do it however you like. However, if you're not the first,
follow the posting style of the person before you. This saves people
having to turn their monitors sideways trying to make sense of an
email. (What's the position on online posting? Never been a fan of
this myself)

* Simple "Me too" emails don't help anyone.

* If asking for troubleshooting details, details details and more
details. Personally I don't put too many details until I'm asked for
them but that's just me - I hate seeing long threads of "Here's a
listing for this configuration file" and "the output of this proggie"
etc. Just don't get testy when someone asks you for details.

* For the sake of everything that is good in this world, do not give
out any details you wouldn't give out to complete and utter strangers.
I can not emphasize this enough. All the emails you post here arer
searchable via google and probably a host of other search engines. Not
only this but the emails are all archived. In otherwords, where's the
fun for a stalker if they can just search the internet for your phone
number or address or whatever?

Oh and a quick introduction just to satisfy b). I'm Nevyn. I've been
on this mailing list (NZLUG and AuckLUG when it was established) for a
couple of years now. I helped with the last installfest organised by
the AuckLUG and was one of the most outspoken people when trying to
establish a AuckLUG (Before this anything done by those who are now
members of AuckLUG was under the blanket of the NZLUG).

My position on Linux:
If it's going to be truly popular, the elitist attitude has to go.
I.e. regular Joe is going to have to be able to use it. While this has
gone a long way in the last couple of years, there are still area's
where I feel Linux is still for the large part lacking. I.e.
documentation.

It's my OS of choice even though I still use Windows on my desktop,
most of the applications I run now are Linux applications run from an
application server (Cygwin is most definitely my friend). Windows
allows me to a) use hardware I can't seem to get working in Linux and
b) test hardware with less hassle in most cases c) complain about
Windows for it's more interestingproperties (ever noticed that the
amount of updates to a windows machines after 3 years slows down a
windows machine something chronic?) d) play games.

For those learning, one of the more frustrating barriers you're likely
to notice is the difference between Free and non-Free software. Eg.
why are the nvidia drivers that nvidia provide never included with any
distribution?, why do you have to jump through hoops just to get mp3's
and most video files to work? etc.

Regards,
Nevyn.