1 | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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2 | <!DOCTYPE sect1 PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.5//EN"
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3 | "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.5/docbookx.dtd" [
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4 | <!ENTITY % general-entities SYSTEM "../../general.ent">
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5 | %general-entities;
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6 | ]>
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7 |
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8 | <sect1 id="askhelp">
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9 | <?dbhtml filename="askhelp.html"?>
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10 |
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11 |
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12 | <title>Asking for Help and the FAQ</title>
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13 |
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14 | <para>If you encounter a problem while using this book, and your problem
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15 | is not listed in the FAQ (<ulink url="https://www.&lfs-domainname;/faq"/>),
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16 | you will find that most of the people on Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and on the
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17 | mailing lists are willing to help you. An overview of the LFS mailing
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18 | lists can be found in <xref linkend="maillists"/>. To assist us
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19 | in diagnosing and solving your problem, include as much relevant information
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20 | as possible in your request for help.</para>
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21 |
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22 | <sect2>
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23 | <title>Things to Check Prior to Asking</title>
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24 |
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25 | <para>Before asking for help, you should review the following items:</para>
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26 |
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27 | <itemizedlist>
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28 | <listitem>
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29 | <para>Is the hardware support compiled into the kernel or
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30 | available as a module to the kernel? If it is a module, is it
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31 | configured properly in <filename>modprobe.conf</filename> and has it
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32 | been loaded? You should use <command>lsmod</command> as the
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33 | <systemitem class='username'>root</systemitem> user to see if it's
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34 | loaded. Check the <filename>sys.log</filename> file or run
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35 | <command>modprobe <replaceable><driver></replaceable></command> to
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36 | review any error message. If it loads properly, you may need to add
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37 | the <command>modprobe</command> command to your boot scripts.</para>
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38 | </listitem>
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39 | <listitem>
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40 | <para>Are your permissions properly set, especially for devices? LFS
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41 | uses groups to make these settings easier, but it also adds the step of
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42 | adding users to groups to allow access. A simple <command>usermod
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43 | -G audio <replaceable><user></replaceable></command> may be all that's
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44 | necessary for that user to have access to the sound system. Any question
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45 | that starts out with <quote>It works as root, but not as ...</quote>
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46 | requires a thorough review of permissions prior to asking.</para>
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47 | </listitem>
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48 | <listitem>
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49 | <para>BLFS liberally uses <filename
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50 | class='directory'>/opt/<replaceable><package></replaceable></filename>.
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51 | The main objection to this centers around the need to expand your
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52 | environment variables for each package placed there (e.g.,
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53 | PATH=$PATH:/opt/kde/bin). In most cases, the package instructions will
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54 | walk you through the changes, but some will not. The section called
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55 | <quote><xref linkend="beyond"/></quote> is
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56 | available to help you check.</para>
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57 | </listitem>
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58 | </itemizedlist>
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59 |
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60 | </sect2>
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61 |
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62 | <sect2>
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63 | <title>Things to Mention</title>
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64 |
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65 | <para>Apart from a brief explanation of the problem you're having, the
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66 | essential things to include in your request are:</para>
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67 |
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68 | <itemizedlist>
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69 | <listitem>
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70 | <para>the version of the book you are using (being &version;),</para>
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71 | </listitem>
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72 | <listitem>
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73 | <para>the package or section giving you problems,</para>
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74 | </listitem>
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75 | <listitem>
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76 | <para>the exact error message or symptom you are receiving,</para>
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77 | </listitem>
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78 | <listitem>
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79 | <para>whether you have deviated from the book or LFS at all
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80 | (packing the book instructions into a script while the book does not
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81 | tell to do so is always considered as deviation, because there have
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82 | been too many cases of issues where people fail to notice a subtle
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83 | difference between the script and the book),</para>
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84 | </listitem>
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85 | <listitem>
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86 | <para>if you are installing a BLFS package on a non-LFS system.</para>
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87 | </listitem>
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88 | </itemizedlist>
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89 |
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90 | <para>Note that saying that you've deviated from the book doesn't mean
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91 | that we won't help you. It'll just help us to see other possible causes
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92 | of your problem. If you've deviated from the book, you should also tell
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93 | precisely what the deviation is so the other people can reproduce it.
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94 | A script can be attached to show what you've exactly done (especially
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95 | if you already have such a script, i.e. you've already have deviated
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96 | from the book by packing the book instructions into a script and run
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97 | it).</para>
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98 |
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99 | <para>Expect guidance instead of specific instructions. If you are
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100 | instructed to read something, please do so. It generally implies that
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101 | the answer was way too obvious and that the question would not have
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102 | been asked if a little research was done prior to asking. The volunteers
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103 | in the mailing list prefer not to be used as an alternative to doing
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104 | reasonable research on your end. In addition, the quality of your
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105 | experience with BLFS is also greatly enhanced by this research, and
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106 | the quality of volunteers is enhanced because they don't feel that their
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107 | time has been abused, so they are far more likely to participate.</para>
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108 |
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109 | <para>An excellent article on asking for help on the Internet in general
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110 | has been written by Eric S. Raymond. It is available online at
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111 | <ulink url="http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html"/>.
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112 | Read and follow the hints in that document and you are much more likely
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113 | to get a response to start with and also to get the help you actually
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114 | need.</para>
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115 |
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116 | </sect2>
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117 |
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118 | </sect1>
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