The Fedora Core release notes suck!

Elton Woo elwoo at videotron.ca
Tue Nov 25 02:53:08 UTC 2003


On November 24, 2003 04:54 pm, Edward C. Bailey, "Edward C. Bailey" 
<ed at redhat.com> wrote:
> Basically, what do you want the release notes to look like?
If I may suggest, and  looking at the notes from the point of view of a
new linux user, or migrant from the Microsoft Windows world.

The page is too long. People lose interest or just plain too LAZY to
read to the bottom. Hence, I would suggest breaking it up into
LINKED sections, starting with

1) Hardware Requirements. Far too many people skip this then
start filling up the lists on "FC doesn't install". After some 20
or so posts, we finally learn they are trying to do a graphical
install on a 486 with 8 Mb RAM, or such.

2) Security Firewalling, should be a separate link. In the present
Notes, this is in BOLD, black letters, but again, people's eyes
and brains get *lazy*. This should be in a separate link / paragraph,
because of it's *importance*.

3) Likewise UP2DATE notes, which IMVHO, I would rate of equal
importance with firewalling.

3b) Other notes.

4) Discontinued  / changed packages. Those who are not new
to linux should have the experience that there *will be* discontinued,
or substituted libraries, and some inkling (at least) of copyright
concerns.

5). How to get help --> links to lists.

/RANT 
Pet peeve: NETIQUETTE and its IMPORTANCE to the archives
and to those whose FIRST language is NOT English.

A short paragraph stating that:
1) Posts must have an appropriate *SUBJECT" heading.
 "fedora-list-archives bla, bla" (containing >100 lines of postings) 
is NOT acceptable.
2) BOTTOM-POSTING respects the continuity of threads, and simplifies
google and internet searches for content.
3) Proper editing of posts when replying (this means NOT including
the list footer >2 times because the poster is too lazy to trim that out!).
4) Netiquette also DEMANDS that signatures be no longer than 3 lines.
(I don't care if you are the Pope, the inventor of the Internet, or *W.H.O.*,
there are still list users who use dial up, and are not interested in the
fact that you own 5 companies or that you provide internet services 
outside their country of residence).
5) For reasons of courtesy, as well as *security* do NOT post in
HTML, the favored tool of SPAMMERS.

If you cannot, will not, refuse to respect these guidelines, then ...
DO NOT post to the list, just lurk or read the archives.

/RANT 

5) Copyright information is usually placed at the end, and having 
this information at the beginning simply throws people off.
YES, I know that FSF and Open Source and their concepts
are / can be spectacular ... especially for those coming out of the
Dark Ages of Closed Source, but please place this at the end.

respectfully,

Elton Woo.

P.S. In case anyone does not understand why I feel so strongly
about "netiquette", kindly refer to to the *second* line in my 
three-line signature hereunder.

-- 
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/stats/team/team_4504.html
"You only live once: let's make life BETTER for each other."
LINUX User #193975 [AMD ATHLON CPU] ICQ #149608718.
		
  







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