[SWLUG] Groupwise

[Gareth Bowker]

On Mon, 2003-05-19 at 17:34, Rhys Sage wrote:
> Has anybody a bluffer's guide to Novelle Groupwise?
> 
> I've just found I have to "know" Groupwise. Is there
> anything similar in Linux that I can refer to in order
> to bluff my way through a sticky point?

The first part is probably better aimed at a mailing list / newsgroup /
web forum that deals with Novell products.

No offense, but it's nigh-on impossible to "bluff" such a large topic as
Linux. Is there a good reference I can use to bluff my way through
medical school? (No, this isn't a challenge to anyone who's particularly
bored!) Linux and associated tools are such a large beast software,
config files and so on you can't just "bluff" it. There's no getting
away from the fact that there's a learning curve and that it *can* be
steep at times. Sorry, but nothing comes close to experience - either
knowing what the problem is and being able to fix it, or the more
important one imho, knowing where to look to find the answer.

That said, Google's a good start, the Linux Documentation Project is
another (I think someone's referred you to that site already). Other
places to look are man pages for the specific tool that you're working
with.

To be honest you won't get very far if you're trying to bluff your way
through fixing something - you're more likely to break something else
and get things in a right old state. It's like me trying to bluff my way
through fixing a car - unless it's something obvious and simple then
there are so many things it could be, that I'm more likely to break
something else and still not fix the original problem. It takes time to
learn the intricacies of any new computer system, the only real way to
learning it is to sit down and play with the system yourself and
(inevitably) break it yourself and (hopefully!) fix it.

There's a wealth of information out there, but it's scattered across the
interweb. Assume it's there to start with and keep refining google
searches (one URL I've just remembered is http://google.com/linux which
lets you search a subset of stuff relating to linux - I tend not to use
that one myself though as it's just quicker to type google.com ;) )
until you find it. Chances are someone else has had the same problem as
you've had, or you'll find a mailing list related to what you're after.
Search its archives, and ask on that list if you don't find what you're
after in its archives.

HTH,

Gareth
-- 
| Gareth Bowker           | <bowkerg at teccon.co.uk> |
| Software Engineer       | http://www.thetcl.com/ |
| Technology Concepts Ltd | +44 870 870 5088       |