So, you want to be a Slacker!? - Part two: The Slacker attitude
Last post that I did, I stated that, in my humble opinion, to "be a Slacker", one must care about Slackware history, understand its philosophy, and also respect how it evolves. So, considering that you agree with all that, let's talk about how (again, from my perspective) you should behave to be considered a Slacker. Taking the final part of last post as a starting point, one must understand that Slackware Linux is what it is. It was given to you that way, period. If you think that "a lot of things are missing", that Slackware "must have" this or that, that it needs a "radical change", or an "modernization", you should not use it. There are tons of GNU/Linux distributions out there: Find the one that suits you. Forget the marketing appeal, forget the yesterday-released hardware, and remember the Slackware tenets: security, stability, simplicity. If you think that you must add something to Slackware, and most part of users do, do it the wright way. Search for the third-party packages repositories (check the Slakfinder), install the software from source or use some script to do that (Slackbuilds will become you favorite website). But, wherever way you choose, remember that Slackware give you the power to decide on what and how to install things on the system. Stay tuned to the dependencies, to the configuration options, read the README files, read the scripts, understand what you are doing! Do not come back to the "Next... Next... I agree... Next..." frenzied clicking routine of other systems. Again, if you want a package manager with dependencies resolution to install things out of your control, somewhere you do not know, find another distro.
At some point you will find problems. Other distros have official bug tracker, official forums in their pages, and stuff like that. Slackware does not. And that, which seems to be a lack of consideration to the users community, is exactly the opposite! There are no impositions: The places to discuss Slackware are defined by the community (and are manly the LQ forum and alt.os.linux.slackware newsgroup). Get in the community, search for help, make friends!
However, as all tribes, Slackers have their social code for acceptable attitudes. One of the expected behaviors is try to find the solution by yourself. By nature, a Slacker is someone who (paradoxically) like to solve problems, and seek for knowledge continuously. So, where you find information, solutions, things to learn? Start with the books: "Slackware Essentials" and "Slackware Basics" are available online. If you did not found what are you looking for, check the most frequent asked questions. There are FAQs on the Slackware webpage, the SlackDocs website, and the alt.os.linux.slackware newsgroup, to cite some. If the FAQs do not cover your needs, try SlackDocs or SlackWiki howtos/articles/tutorials, or search LQ Forum history. If you need more ideas check this Slackware links list. Sometimes, you will find suggestions/solutions on Google, from other distros forums, for example. Try it! If necessary, adapt it. That's how Slackers are made!
Of course, some problems are beyond our knowledge. Well, that is why we are a community. And that is an important attitude: be part of the community. Ask your questions in LQ Forum, but also, try to answer. At least, give your opinion sometimes. Same for alt.os.linux.slackware. Show up in IRC server now and then. Contribute to SlackDocs and SlackWiki sharing some solution that you found, but that is not registered there. You can also help the community from your country translating articles that are already there. With time, you may feel comfortable enough to write something from scratch. With time, you may feel capable of maintain some slackbuilds. Maybe you will feel confident to use the test branch (current) of Slackware and face wherever problem that come up (let's talk about it next time).
To finish this post, let me highlight the attitude that is probably the first one that a Slacker should be worry about: What can I do to support Slackware Linux? Not to keep your own system working. Not to help community. Not to produce documentation or slackbuilds. How to help Slackware Linux to keep it existence? Simple: Donate! Remember that Slackware Linux is like a personal project. The Man, our Benevolent Dictator for Life, Patrick Volkerding leads the project, which is freely available and will ever be (in his words), without charge you. The first thing that someone who cares about Slackware must do is give Mr. Volkerding the conditions to dedicate his time to it. You can do it once or monthly, through Paypal, Patreon or mail. You do not need to be a Slacker to recognize the important work that Mr. Volkerding and all core team of Slackware did through the years. But, if you consider yourself a Slacker you must recognize it!
May the Source be with you!
carriunix
At some point you will find problems. Other distros have official bug tracker, official forums in their pages, and stuff like that. Slackware does not. And that, which seems to be a lack of consideration to the users community, is exactly the opposite! There are no impositions: The places to discuss Slackware are defined by the community (and are manly the LQ forum and alt.os.linux.slackware newsgroup). Get in the community, search for help, make friends!
However, as all tribes, Slackers have their social code for acceptable attitudes. One of the expected behaviors is try to find the solution by yourself. By nature, a Slacker is someone who (paradoxically) like to solve problems, and seek for knowledge continuously. So, where you find information, solutions, things to learn? Start with the books: "Slackware Essentials" and "Slackware Basics" are available online. If you did not found what are you looking for, check the most frequent asked questions. There are FAQs on the Slackware webpage, the SlackDocs website, and the alt.os.linux.slackware newsgroup, to cite some. If the FAQs do not cover your needs, try SlackDocs or SlackWiki howtos/articles/tutorials, or search LQ Forum history. If you need more ideas check this Slackware links list. Sometimes, you will find suggestions/solutions on Google, from other distros forums, for example. Try it! If necessary, adapt it. That's how Slackers are made!Of course, some problems are beyond our knowledge. Well, that is why we are a community. And that is an important attitude: be part of the community. Ask your questions in LQ Forum, but also, try to answer. At least, give your opinion sometimes. Same for alt.os.linux.slackware. Show up in IRC server now and then. Contribute to SlackDocs and SlackWiki sharing some solution that you found, but that is not registered there. You can also help the community from your country translating articles that are already there. With time, you may feel comfortable enough to write something from scratch. With time, you may feel capable of maintain some slackbuilds. Maybe you will feel confident to use the test branch (current) of Slackware and face wherever problem that come up (let's talk about it next time).
To finish this post, let me highlight the attitude that is probably the first one that a Slacker should be worry about: What can I do to support Slackware Linux? Not to keep your own system working. Not to help community. Not to produce documentation or slackbuilds. How to help Slackware Linux to keep it existence? Simple: Donate! Remember that Slackware Linux is like a personal project. The Man, our Benevolent Dictator for Life, Patrick Volkerding leads the project, which is freely available and will ever be (in his words), without charge you. The first thing that someone who cares about Slackware must do is give Mr. Volkerding the conditions to dedicate his time to it. You can do it once or monthly, through Paypal, Patreon or mail. You do not need to be a Slacker to recognize the important work that Mr. Volkerding and all core team of Slackware did through the years. But, if you consider yourself a Slacker you must recognize it!
May the Source be with you!
carriunix
Total Comments 0
