One of the most common questions is "Where should I look for help?". There are several places to go initially, and those change slightly based on which BSD you decide to use. Following is a list of some good places to start.
Every good piece of software has documentation to go along with it.
Generally in the online world the place to start is with the FAQ.
Each of the BSD projects has a file full of commonly asked questions and
answers. FreeBSD has taken this a step further with the FreeBSD Handbook
which covers setting up and running your system from beginning to advanced
topics.
One resource that you should always check should have been installed
with your new operating system. (I know they exist with FreeBSD, and I'm
checking about OpenBSD and NetBSD.) These helpful little items are called
man pages. They tend to be a little technical, but generally a very good
source of information. If you are not familiar with man pages, type "man
man" at the prompt (without the quotes). I'm working on a more thorough
page to deal with man pages, and will post it here as soon as I can.
Another place to look for help is on mailing lists. I must stress that mailing lists should only be used after looking at the available documentation and searching the archived messages.
Comments or suggestions please email to [email protected]
©2000 Rob Perry