doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/mailing-list-faq/article.sgml

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<article>
  <articleinfo>
    <title>Frequently Asked Questions About The &os; Mailing Lists</title>

    <authorgroup>
      <author>
	<surname>The &os; Documentation Project</surname>
      </author>
    </authorgroup>

    <pubdate>$FreeBSD$</pubdate>

    <copyright>
      <year>2004</year>
      <year>2005</year>
      <holder>The &os; Documentation Project</holder>
    </copyright>

    <abstract>
      <para>This is the FAQ for the &os; mailing lists.  If you are
	interested in helping with this project, send email to the &a.doc;.
	The latest version of this document is always available from the
	<ulink
	url="http://www.FreeBSD.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/mailing-list-faq/index.html">&os;
	World Wide Web server</ulink>. It may also be downloaded as
	one large <ulink url="article.html">HTML</ulink> file with HTTP
	or as plain text, PostScript, PDF, etc. from the <ulink
	url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/doc/">&os; FTP
	server</ulink>. You may also want to <ulink
	url="&url.base;/search/index.html">Search the
	FAQ</ulink>.</para>
    </abstract>
  </articleinfo>

  <sect1 id="introduction">
    <title>Introduction</title>

    <para>As is usual with FAQs, this document aims to cover the
      most frequently asked questions concerning the &os; mailing
      lists (and of course answer them!).  Although originally intended
      to reduce bandwidth and avoid the same old questions being asked
      over and over again, FAQs have become recognized as valuable
      information resources.</para>

     <para>This document attempts to represent a community consensus, and
       as such it can never really be <emphasis>authoritative</emphasis>.
       However, if you find technical errors within this document, or
       have suggestions about items that should be added, please either
       submit a PR, or email the &a.doc;.  Thanks.</para>

    <qandaset>
      <qandaentry>
	<question id="purpose">
	  <para>What is the purpose of the &os; mailing lists?</para>
	</question>

	<answer>
	  <para>The &os; mailing lists serve as the primary
	   communication channels for the &os; community, covering many
	   different topic areas and communities of interest.</para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="audience">
	  <para>Who is the audience for the &os; mailing lists?</para>
	</question>

	<answer>
	  <para>This depends on charter of each individual list.  Some
	    lists are more oriented to developers; some are more oriented
	    towards the &os; community as a whole.  Please see <ulink
	    url="http://lists.FreeBSD.org/mailman/listinfo">this list</ulink>
	    for the current summary.</para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="participation-who">
	  <para>Are the &os; mailing lists open for anyone to participate?</para>
	</question>

	<answer>
	  <para>Again, this depends on charter of each individual list.
	    Please read the charter of a mailing list before you post to it,
	    and respect it when you post.  This will help everyone to have
	    a better experience with the lists.</para>

	  <para>If after reading the above lists, you still do not know
	    which mailing list to post a question to, you will probably
	    want to post to freebsd-questions (but see below, first).</para>

	  <para>Also note that the mailing lists have traditionally
	    been open to postings from non-subscribers.  This has
	    been a deliberate choice, to help make joining the &os;
	    community an easier process, and to encourage open sharing
	    of ideas.  However, due to past abuse by some individuals,
	    certain lists now have a policy where postings from
	    non-subscribers must be manually screened to ensure that
	    they are appropriate.</para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="subscribe">
	  <para>How can I subscribe?</para>
	</question>

	<answer>
	  <para>You can use <ulink
	    url="http://lists.FreeBSD.org/mailman/listinfo">
	    the Mailman web interface</ulink> to subscribe to any
	    of the public lists.</para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="unsubscribe">
	  <para>How can I unsubscribe?</para>
	</question>

	<answer>
	  <para>You can use the same interface as above; or,
	    you can follow the instructions that are at the
	    bottom of every mailing list message that is sent.</para>

	  <para>Please do not send unsubscribe messages directly
	    to the public lists themselves.  First, this will not
	    accomplish your goal, and second, it will irritate the
	    existing subscribers, and you will probably get flamed.
	    This is a classical mistake when using mailing lists;
	    please try to avoid it.</para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="archives">
	  <para>Are archives available?</para>
	</question>

	<answer>
	  <para>Yes.  Threaded archives are available
	    <ulink url="http://docs.FreeBSD.org/mail/">here</ulink>.</para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="digest">
	  <para>Are mailing lists available in a digest format?</para>
	</question>

	<answer>
	  <para>Yes.  See <ulink
	    url="http://lists.FreeBSD.org/mailman/listinfo">
	    the Mailman web interface</ulink>.</para>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>
    </qandaset>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="etiquette">
    <title>Mailing List Etiquette</title>

    <para>Participation in the mailing lists, like participation
      in any community, requires a common basis for communication.
      Please make only appropriate postings, and follow common
      rules of etiquette.</para>

    <qandaset>
      <qandaentry>
	<question id="before-posting">
	  <para>What should I do before I post?</para>
	</question>

	<answer>
	  <para>You have already taken the most important step by
	    reading this document.  However, if you are new to &os;,
	    you may first need to familiarize yourself with the
	    software, and all the social history around it, by
	    reading the numerous
	    <ulink url="&url.base;/docs.html#books">books</ulink>
	    and
	    <ulink url="&url.base;/docs.html#articles">articles</ulink>
	    that are available.  Items of particular interest
	    include the <ulink
	    url="&url.books.faq;/index.html">
	    &os; Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)</ulink> document,
	    the <ulink
	    url="&url.books.handbook;/index.html">
	    &os; Handbook</ulink>,
	    and the articles <ulink
	    url="&url.articles.freebsd-questions;/article.html">
	    How to get best results from the FreeBSD-questions mailing list</ulink>,
	    <ulink
	    url="&url.articles.explaining-bsd;/article.html">
	    Explaining BSD</ulink>,
	    and <ulink
	    url="&url.articles.new-users;/article.html">
	    &os; First Steps</ulink>.</para>

	  <para>It is always considered bad form to ask a question that is
	    already answered in the above documents.  This is not because
	    the volunteers who work on this project are particularly mean
	    people, but after a certain number of times answering the same
	    questions over and over again, frustration begins to set in.
	    This is particularly true if there is an existing answer to the
	    question that is already available.  Always keep in mind that
	    almost all of the work done on &os; is done by volunteers,
	    and that we are only human.</para>
	</answer>

      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="inappropriate">
	  <para>What constitutes an inappropriate posting?</para>
	</question>

	<answer>
	  <itemizedlist>
	    <listitem>
	      <para>Postings must be in accordance with the charter
		of the mailing list.</para>
	    </listitem>

	    <listitem>
	      <para>Personal attacks are discouraged.  As good
		net-citizens, we should try to hold ourselves to high
		standards of behavior.</para>
	    </listitem>

	    <listitem>
	      <para>Spam is not allowed, ever.  The mailing lists are
		actively processed to ban offenders to this rule.</para>
	    </listitem>
	  </itemizedlist>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="etiquette-posting">
	  <para>What is considered proper etiquette when posting
	    to the mailing lists?</para>
	</question>

	<answer>
	  <itemizedlist>
	    <listitem>
	      <para>Please wrap lines at 75 characters, since not
		everyone uses fancy GUI mail reading programs.</para>
	    </listitem>

	    <listitem>
	      <para>Please respect the fact that bandwidth is not
		infinite.  Not everyone reads email through high-speed
		connections, so if your posting involves something like
		the content of <filename>config.log</filename> or an
		extensive stack trace, please consider putting that
		information up on a website somewhere and just provide
		a URL to it.  Remember, too, that these postings will
		be archived indefinitely, so huge postings will simply
		inflate the size of the archives long after their
		purpose has expired.</para>
	    </listitem>

	    <listitem>
	      <para>Format your message so that it is legible, and
		PLEASE DO NOT SHOUT!!!!!.  Do not underestimate the
		effect that a poorly formatted mail message has, and not
		just on the &os; mailing lists.  Your mail message is
		all that people see of you, and if it is poorly formatted,
		badly spelled, full of errors, and/or has lots of exclamation
		points, it will give people a poor impression of you.</para>
	    </listitem>

	    <listitem>
	      <para>Please use an appropriate human language for a
		particular mailing list.  Many non-English mailing
		lists are
		<ulink url="&url.base;/support.html#mailing-list-languages">
		available</ulink>.</para>

	      <para>For the ones that are not, we do appreciate that many
		people do not speak English as their first language,
		and we try to make allowances for that.  It is considered
		particularly poor form to criticize non-native speakers
		for spelling or grammatical errors.  &os; has an
		excellent track record in this regard; please, help us
		to uphold that tradition.</para>
	    </listitem>

	    <listitem>
	      <para>Please use a standards-compliant Mail User Agent (MUA).
		A lot of badly formatted messages come from
		<ulink url="http://www.lemis.com/email.html">bad mailers
		or badly configured mailers</ulink>.  The following mailers
		are known to send out badly formatted messages without you
		finding out about them:</para>

	      <itemizedlist>
		<listitem>
		  <para>cc:Mail</para>
		</listitem>

		<listitem>
		  <para>&eudora; (older versions)</para>
		</listitem>

		<listitem>
		  <para>exmh</para>
		</listitem>

		<listitem>
		  <para>&microsoft; Exchange</para>
		</listitem>

		<listitem>
		  <para>&microsoft; Internet Mail</para>
		</listitem>

		<listitem>
		  <para>&microsoft; &outlook;</para>
		</listitem>

		<listitem>
		  <para>&netscape; (older versions)</para>
		</listitem>
	      </itemizedlist>

	      <para>As you can see, the mailers in the Microsoft world
		are frequent offenders.  If at all possible, use a &unix;
		mailer. If you must use a mailer under Microsoft
		environments, make sure it is set up correctly.  Try not
		to use <acronym>MIME</acronym>: a lot of people use mailers
		which do not get on very well with
		<acronym>MIME</acronym>.</para>
	    </listitem>

	    <listitem>
	      <para>Make sure your time and time zone are set correctly.
		This may seem a little silly, since your message still
		gets there, but many of the people on these mailing lists
		get several hundred messages a day.  They frequently sort
		the incoming messages by subject and by date, and if your
		message does not come before the first answer, they may
		assume that they missed it and not bother to look.</para>
	    </listitem>

	    <listitem>
	      <para>A lot of the information you need to supply is the
		output of programs, such as &man.dmesg.8;, or console
		messages, which usually appear in
		<filename>/var/log/messages</filename>.  Do not try to copy
		this information by typing it in again; not only it is a
		real pain, but you are bound to make a mistake.  To send log
		file contents, either make a copy of the file and use an
		editor to trim the information to what is relevant, or cut
		and paste into your message.  For the output of programs
		like <command>dmesg</command>, redirect the output to a
		file and include that.  For example,</para>

		  <screen>&prompt.user; <userinput>dmesg &gt; /tmp/dmesg.out</userinput></screen>

	      <para>This redirects the information to the file
		<filename>/tmp/dmesg.out</filename>.</para>
	    </listitem>

	    <listitem>
	      <para>When using cut-and-paste, please be aware that some
		such operations badly mangle their messages.  This is of
		particular concern when posting contents of
		<filename>Makefiles</filename>, where <literal>tab</literal>
		is a significant character.  This is a very common,
		and very annoying, problem with submissions to the
		<ulink url="&url.base;/support.html#gnats">
		GNATS Problem Reports database</ulink>.
		<filename>Makefiles</filename> with tabs changed to either
		spaces, or the annoying <literal>=3B</literal> escape
		sequence, create a great deal of aggravation for
		committers.</para>
	    </listitem>
	  </itemizedlist>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>

      <qandaentry>
	<question id="etiquette-replying">
	  <para>What are the special etiquette consideration when replying
	    to an existing posting on the mailing lists?</para>
	</question>

	<answer>
	  <itemizedlist>
	    <listitem>
	      <para>Please include relevant text from the original message.
		Trim it to the minimum, but do not overdo it.  It should
		still be possible for somebody who did not read the original
		message to understand what you are talking about.</para>

	      <para> This is especially important for postings of the type
		"yes, I see this too", where the initial posting was dozens
		or hundreds of lines.</para>
	    </listitem>

	    <listitem>
	      <para>Use some technique to identify which text came from
		the original message, and which text you add.  A common
		convention is to prepend
		<quote><literal>&gt; </literal></quote> to the original
		message.  Leaving white space after the
		<quote><literal>&gt; </literal></quote> and leaving empty
		lines between your text and the original text both make
		the result more readable.</para>
	    </listitem>

	    <listitem>
	      <para>Please ensure that the attributions of the text
		you are quoting is correct.  People can become offended
		if you attribute words to them that they themselves did
		not write.</para>
	    </listitem>

	    <listitem>
	      <para>Please do not <literal>top post</literal>.  By this, we
		mean that if you are replying to a message, please put your
		replies after the text that you copy in your reply.</para>
		<!-- note: the question and answer are intentionally
		  reversed for humorous effect -->
	      <itemizedlist>
		<listitem>
		  <para>A: Because it reverses the logical flow of
		    conversation.</para>
		</listitem>
		<listitem>
		  <para>Q: Why is top posting frowned upon?</para>
		</listitem>
	      </itemizedlist>
	      <para>(Thanks to Randy Bush for the joke.)</para>
	    </listitem>
	  </itemizedlist>
	</answer>
      </qandaentry>
    </qandaset>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="recurring">
    <title>Recurring Topics On The Mailing Lists</title>

    <para>Participation in the mailing lists, like participation
      in any community, requires a common basis for communication.
      Many of the mailing lists presuppose a knowledge of the
      Project's history.  In particular, there are certain topics
      that seem to regularly occur to newcomers to the community.
      It is the responsibility of each poster to ensure that
      their postings do not fall into one of these categories.
      By doing so, you will help the mailing lists to stay on-topic,
      and probably save yourself being flamed in the process.</para>

    <para>The best method to avoid this is to familiarize yourself
      with the <ulink url="http://docs.FreeBSD.org/mail/">
      mailing list archives</ulink>,
      to help yourself understand the background of
      what has gone before.  In this, the <ulink
      url="http://www.FreeBSD.org/search/search.html#mailinglists">
      mailing list search interface</ulink>
      is invaluable.  (If that method does not yield useful results,
      please supplement it with a search with your favorite major
      search engine).</para>

    <para>By familiarizing yourself with the archives, not only will
      you learn what topics have been discussed before, but also how
      discussion tends to proceed on that list, who the participants
      are, and who the target audience is.  These are always good things
      to know before you post to any mailing list, not just a &os;
      mailing list.</para>

    <para>There is no doubt that the archives are quite extensive, and
      some questions recur more often than others, sometimes as followups
      where the subject line no longer accurately reflects the new content.
      Nevertheless, the burden is on you, the poster, to do your homework
      to help avoid these recurring topics, and especially the dreaded
      <literal>bikeshed</literal>s.</para>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="bikeshed">
    <title>What Is A "Bikeshed"?</title>
      <para>Literally, a <literal>bikeshed</literal> is a small outdoor
	shelter into which one may store one's two-wheeled form of
	transportation.  However, in &os; parlance, the word is a
	derogatory term that refers to any oft-recurring discussion
	about a particular subject; in particular, it is most often used
	to refer to a topic which has never reached a consensus within
	the &os; community, and instead remains controversial.  (The
	genesis of this term is explained in more detail <ulink
	url="&url.books.faq;/misc.html#BIKESHED-PAINTING">
	in this document</ulink>).  You simply must have a working
	knowledge of this concept before posting to any &os; mailing
	list.</para>

      <para>More generally, a bikeshed is a topic that will tend to
	generate immediate meta-discussions and flames if you have
	not read up on their past history.</para>

      <para>Please help us to keep the mailing lists as useful for as
	many people as possible by avoiding bikesheds whenever you can.
	Thanks.</para>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 id="acknowledgments">
    <title>Acknowledgments</title>

      <variablelist>
	<varlistentry>
	  <term>&a.grog;</term>
	  <listitem>
	    <para>Original author of most of the material on mailing
	      list etiquette, taken from the article on <ulink
	      url="&url.articles.freebsd-questions;/article.html">
	      How to get best results from the FreeBSD-questions mailing list</ulink>.</para>
	  </listitem>
	</varlistentry>

	<varlistentry>
	  <term>&a.linimon;</term>
	  <listitem>
	    <para>Creation of the rough draft of this FAQ.</para>
	  </listitem>
	</varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
  </sect1>

</article>