like in the other forum (hardware/software...), can we have a thread where we just mention a few lines which almost all newbies are likely to ask? for instance, which is the best linux distro to choose from and stuff like that?
anyone having any questions they had answered here when they first started out can write in that thread, and the rest can refer to that if its been mentioned.
i think thatll help all.

Of course it is possible. The thing is that the right questions must be choosen and answers written. I'm not sure which questions need such things. I don't think that 'which distro for a newbie' type of question is the best example. Mostly because there's no clear answer. But I may be wrong. What do you think?

i had a lot of problems early on getting my hardware working to its full potential. i know i can write reasonably good faqs for anyone using this config. we could write a step-by-step for kernel compiling (which got really easy now with 2.6) and patching for new drivers.

we could also write bout the first places to look for when something goes wrong (for instance, we have a lot of questions today asking bout X, and almost all are answered with 'post your XF86-config).

of course, they could all hit the search and see it among the many other posts, but since that doesnt happen to often, we could just write a little gist of things to look for and basic instructions for a few things. we could also include relevant links too.

jmo, but that type of question would be a great reference in a sticky, if everyone chimed in w/ their pros/cons for their favorite distro. the key would be getting a broad spectrum of users involved, as well as, honest answers pertaining to pros/cons.

To h/w
Kernel compiling looks for me more for a LinuxAnswer (there's no such one, as far as I can see). It's not very 'newbie', imho.

To PEACEDOG
It easily leads to "which distro is best" type of thread, what's not what we'd like to have. I'd rather think about a text describing what's 'distro' and why they're here, mentioning Knoppix (and similar) and most popular distros to install.

yes, that's what i was thinking too.

more of an FAQ really. and really, as i mentioned, we dont have to write everything down ourselves, we could prolly provide links to either this forum or outside.

i have to agree w/you that it lends itself to a "best distro" type of thread. so maybe a more cut and dry approach as you suggest would be best. i guess the next ? is how do we get started? could we just start a thread w/ very clear guidelines on what is requiered before posting? i think h/w is on to something here. i'm willing to help out any way i can, and Mara, thx for your interest.

I would think more along the lines of the "top 5 things newbies run into" and answers to those questions would be a good appropriate type sticky thread. Most of the other things mentioned would make for good LinuxAnswers. All of couse IMHO

Something like:
http://home.c2i.net/dark/linux.html (which is currently down and so is the new link...)

Cool

what do you recomend as top 5 ?'s? some of the things i see most often, are how to dual boot, lilo problems and configuration there of, installing software ( that would be tough to cover as there are so many different methods as the distros vary), proper partitioning, commands (what are they, where can i find them). on that note possibly at the end of the post, a good list of links to useful info for newbies, like o'riellys command list, rute user's guide, etc. what do you think?

Such "5 top things" thread is also a good idea, but I'm not sure what should it be. IMHO: distro fo a newbie, dual boot, partitioning, where to get help (mention man pages). What do you think?

basic scripts. location of the scripts and what to look for in them. (for instance, inittab, fstab, profile...)

files to look at for graphics/sound/... settings?

along with the distro, a short list of popular window managers with 2-3 pros and cons for the bigger ones against the smaller ones?

i think we could classify them under different "sticky's" here.
like:

selections of distro, window managers ...

problems during boot (where we mention bout looking up the bootloader conf and some install issues causing kernel panix)

problems after boot (where we can mention runlevels and related files, window managers, scripts that can be modified and other things to get X working, also include notes on the desktop env)

i submitted my guide but it didn't make the cut ;-)

but in any case, i think the idea of top 5's or however many it takes to cover the most frequently asked, or frequently encountered problems is a superb idea...but the thing is, is that they should even be linked on the main homepage...like i notice many questions that are repeatedly asked, but are located in the answers section, but people still are too lazy to go find or even take a quick browse before asking the question...even when its a sticky and they are in that particular fourm they still don't see it, and they still proceed to make their post, maybe there is just no resolvment
if not on the main hompage, maybe a fourm like section on the opening page of the fourms where the fourm selection is...

Those all sound like great ideas. Maybe we can do 1 sticky for ~ 1 week with ~10 questions as a poll. Have the poll be the type where you can make multiple selections, and have the newbie posters (and/or all LQ members of course ) vote on which are the "top 5" questions that a newbie should have answers to or rather are the top 5 questions asked by members on the board in the newbie forum (here)...

Afterwards, take the "top 5" and post them up in a sticky with answers. We could even leave the sticky open for a day or 2 to allow for responses to the questions (other ways to achieve such results, more oppinions and so on..).

Cool

Hey guys, excellent discussion, I started a post this morning on "searching for an answer to your issue" this morning, didn't get any replies. I was hoping for a moderator, guru, or member to comment to help emphasize how much faster you can resolve a problem.

So I agree with the top 5 thing, but I think there should also be some kind of "how to search for your issue" type sticky. I know I don't have that many posts but I have noticed that most of the questions that I answer already have answers on this forum. What if you emphasize the time savings. You search and find an answer in 5 min. or post the question and wait for several hours or even a day before getting an answer.