[plug] Newbie Guide - The beginning

[Arie Hol]

Greetings,

Firstly a big thank you to all who responded to my previous post and an even bigger thank you to 
those who offered to participate - I will get back to them in good time.

It look's like I got off on the wrong foot, (I suppose that comes from being struck by a runaway 
train).

I have taken on board all of the comments made and will attempt to answer all of them at once :

Firstly the demo site has been taken down.

All references to P.L.U.G. have been removed.

I do not want to do a wiki and spend the rest of my life administering it - and fighting about it 
as it wanders away from the original concept and becomes irrelevant to the people it is aimed at.

I will keep the site as my my own work and run it from Ozemail - until :
P.L.U.G. considers it good enough to adopt as their own - at which time I will give it to     
P.L.U.G. to rehash or whatever OR I find I need my web space for something else.

The main concept behind my idea is - that it is and remains a support system for newcomers to 
linux, written by a newcomer for newcomers.

It will only get as technical as it needs to.

If it is no good then the newcomers will let me know.

It will be based on what I have achieved with Linux and feel comfortable sharing with others.

I will create as much content as I need to - yes I will reinvent the wheel - silly perhaps - but in 
reality a lot of the wheels out there at the moment do not seem to rolling very well for a lot of 
newcomers - because they are written by people with higher skill levels and you need a pilots' 
licence to understand them.

I am a newbie (newcomer) to Linux and always will be (even when I'm 85 years old, already at 54)

I have just finished two degrees at uni, ( not bad for somebody who is ADD and a mild dyslexic)

I am not a linux fanatic, guru, geek or otherwise, I am not a programmer.

But I am frustrated by the "class distinction" that continually emanates from "experienced" Linux 
users towards newcomers - I think it's great that you have installfests and install everything for 
new users - but some users want to understand how and what is happening and maybe do it themselves.

I don't believe in throwing someone a life preserver and then telling them to SWIM - I'd rather 
teach them to swim.

Too many times newcomer queries are answered with "technical" solutions that the newcomers cannot 
understand - and they end up turning away.

I would like to refer to the AGM discussion which was started by an elderly chap (sorry about  that 
- can't remember his name) - who said he was practically ignored at the P.L.U.G. workshops that he 
attended - and ending up going home non the wiser.

Where's the community spirit that we brag about.

I think that too many "experienced" Linux users become elitist - and can't be bothered with new 
comers and ordinary people, maybe I joined the wrong club - I just don't know.

The newcomers web site will take a lot of time and effort - but I am willing to persevere even if 
my ideas and personal style do not suit others.

No offence intended or implied to anyone - even bad comments can lead to good outcomes.

Keep them coming, but I will still bite when prodded with a stick.

Regards Arie
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 For the concert of life, nobody has a program.
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