source: book/preface.xml@ 7e3964a0

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  <title>Preface</title>

  <para>Having helped out with Linux From Scratch for a short time, I
  noticed that we were getting many queries as to how to do things beyond
  the base LFS system.  At the time, the only assistance specifically offered
  relating to LFS were the LFS hints (<ulink url="&hints-root;"/>).
  Most of the LFS hints are extremely good and well written
  but I (and others) could still see a need for more comprehensive help to
  go Beyond LFS &mdash; hence BLFS.</para>

  <para>BLFS aims to be more than the LFS-hints converted to XML although
  much of our work is based around the hints and indeed some authors write
  both hints and the relevant BLFS sections.  We hope that we can provide
  you with enough information to not only manage to build your system up to
  what you want, whether it be a web server or a multimedia desktop system,
  but also that you will learn a lot about system configuration as you go.</para>

  <para>Thanks as ever go to everyone in the LFS/BLFS
  community; especially those who have contributed instructions, written text,
  answered questions and generally shouted when things were wrong!</para>

  <para>Finally, we encourage you to become involved in the community; ask
  questions on the mailing list or news gateway and join in the fun on #lfs and
  #lfs-support at freenode. You can find more details about all of these in
  the <xref linkend="introduction"/> section of the book.</para>

  <para>Enjoy using BLFS.</para>

  <blockquote>
<literallayout>Mark Hymers
markh &lt;at&gt; &lfs-domainname;
BLFS Editor (July 2001&ndash;March 2003)</literallayout>
  </blockquote>

  <para>I still remember how I found the BLFS project
  and started using the instructions that were completed at the time.  I could
  not believe how wonderful it was to get an application up and running very
  quickly, with explanations as to why things were done a certain way.
  Unfortunately, for me, it wasn't long before I was opening applications that
  had nothing more  than "To be done" on the page.  I did what most would do,
  I waited for someone else to do it.  It wasn't too long before I am looking
  through  <application>Bugzilla</application> for something easy to do.
  As with any learning experience, the definition of what was easy kept
  changing.</para>

  <para>We still encourage you to become involved as BLFS is
  never really finished.  Contributing or just using, we hope you enjoy
  your BLFS experience.</para>

  <blockquote>
<literallayout>Larry Lawrence
larry &lt;at&gt; &lfs-domainname;
BLFS Editor (March 2003&ndash;June 2004)</literallayout>
  </blockquote>

  <para>The BLFS project is a natural progression of
  LFS.  Together, these projects provide a unique resource for
  the Open Source Community.  They take the mystery out of the process of
  building a complete, functional software system from the source code contributed
  by many talented individuals throughout the world.  They truly allow users
  to implement the slogan
  <quote><emphasis>Your distro, your rules</emphasis></quote>.</para>

  <para>Our goal is to continue to provide the best resource available that shows
  you how to integrate many significant Open Source applications.  Since these
  applications are constantly updated and new applications are developed, this
  book will never be complete.  Additionally, there is always room for
  improvement in explaining the nuances of how to install the different packages.
  To make these improvements, we need your feedback.  I encourage you to
  participate on the different mailing lists, news groups, and
  IRC channels to help meet these goals.</para>

  <blockquote>
<literallayout>Bruce Dubbs
bdubbs &lt;at&gt; &lfs-domainname;
BLFS Editor (June 2004&ndash;December 2006 and February 2011&ndash;now)</literallayout>
  </blockquote>

  <para>My introduction to the [B]LFS project was actually by accident. I
  was trying to build a <application>GNOME</application> environment using
  some how-tos and other information I found on the web. A couple of times
  I ran into some build issues and Googling pulled up some old BLFS mailing
  list messages. Out for curiosity, I visited the Linux From Scratch web site
  and shortly thereafter was hooked. I've not used any other Linux
  distribution for personal use since.</para>

  <para>I can't promise anyone will feel the sense of satisfaction I felt
  after building my first few systems using [B]LFS instructions, but I
  sincerely hope that your BLFS experience is as rewarding for you as it has
  been for me.</para>

  <para>The BLFS project has grown significantly the last couple of years.
  There are more package instructions and related dependencies than ever
  before. The project requires your input for continued success. If you
  discover that you enjoy building BLFS, please consider helping out in any
  way you can. BLFS requires hundreds of hours of maintenance to keep it
  even semi-current. If you feel confident enough in your editing skills,
  please consider joining the BLFS team. Simply contributing to the mailing
  list discussions with sound advice and/or providing patches to the book's
  XML will probably result in you receiving an invitation to join the
  team.</para>

  <blockquote>
<literallayout>Randy McMurchy
randy &lt;at&gt; &lfs-domainname;
BLFS Editor (December 2006&ndash;January 2011)</literallayout>
  </blockquote>

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