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From: "lhall AT pop DOT ma DOT ultranet DOT com" <lhall AT pop DOT ma DOT ultranet DOT com>
To: soren_andersen AT fastmail DOT fm, cygwin AT cygwin DOT com
Subject: Re: bash isn't running my .bashrc!
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 18:08:15 -0500
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I'm not trying to suggest your opinion is wrong here Soren (you're 
certainly entitled to your opinion) but I would like to make a few
statements to clarify the list's stance on the issues you raised.

  1. Questions about bash on the email list (newbie or otherwise)
     are not discouraged if the questions are Cygwin-related (i.e. 
     particular to Cygwin).  Questions that can be answered by the 
     bash man page/documentation would generally be considered off-topic
     for this list because they are not Cygwin-specific.  However, if a 
     problem arose for which there was no source of information with the 
     answer, asking this list about it would be reasonable.  While being
     "Cygwin-specific" is the basic litmus test, the list isn't so strict
     that everyone must prove the issue they have is only with the Cygwin 
     version.  We just want folks to do their homework first to make sure
     that the topic they raise is a technical one not addressed in 
     available documentation or not a known general problem with bash.  
     Actually this is a good rule-of-thumb when posting to this list with
     any problem, not just bash.

  2. This list is here to discuss all things Cygwin.  However, just because
     a program is part of the distribution, any and all questions about it
     do not automatically become on-topic for this list.  There are many 
     fine lists out there and many great sources of documentation and 
     information on most if not all the packages provided with Cygwin.  It's
     simply impractical for the Cygwin list to become the one-stop source
     for all questions about all (or even one) of these packages.  

  3. Answering the same questions on this list, whether about bash, some
other
     package, or just generally about Cygwin, is the main thing that this
list
     strives to avoid.  Practically, this makes sense.  Repeat questions 
     waste time and bandwidth.  Avoiding them lowers list volume and makes
     the archives more useful.  It also ties in nicely with the idea that 
     this list is here to help people learn how to help themselves wherever
     possible.  Of course, this is a goal that will never be completely met
     but it makes sense to try.  Doing so makes being on the list better
     for everyone by managing the volume without sacrificing quality.

While many folks responding to queries on this list tend to operate with 
these principles as a guideline, generally they are fairly leniently
applied.
My observations suggest that no one even mentions such guidelines in their
email responses until a certain subject repeats quite a bit.  

Hopefully you don't feel that I'm admonishing you in some way with my
comments above.  However, I did want to address some of the comments you
made, in case some newbie was reading the archives and was left with an 
unclear impression of the list's goals.  Generally speaking, I think this 
can all be summed up rather nicely by http://cygwin.com/lists.html.  I 
recommend it to anyone looking for the general guidelines of this list's
etiquette.

Larry

Original Message:
-----------------
From: Soren A soren_andersen AT fastmail DOT fm
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2002 16:47:50 +0000 (UTC)
To: cygwin AT cygwin DOT com
Subject: Re: bash isn't running my .bashrc!


<snip>

I've said before and will say again that I know cgf thinks this sort of
discussion is OT for Cygwin. By deciding so, he is basically saying "the
first thing that some new Cygwin users will grapple with, the unfamililar
bash shell, is something we won't offer them any help with." IMHO that's
a bit too rigid and demanding: "You either have to have been a bash user
already or come to this List understanding that you are expected to find
and read an entire bash manual beforehand." A bit unrealistic IMHO. 

At the same time I recognize that Chris and others don't want to
repeatedly answer the same bash newbie questions here and I wouldn't
want to see them have to. That's why I referred to the Subject: as a
"honeypot". Hopefully a new user will have at the very least tried to
search the archive for a posting that matched his or her distress. I am
hoping my posting will "lure" future archive searchers towards this
helpful information. I am sure it is very likely that Chris or someone
else will take issue, fine, I am content to let cgf have his views but I
will keep mine. 

  Best,
    Soren A
-- 
Yes, it's really Sören, not Soren.


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