[plug] Newbys guide

[James Devenish]

In message <47648425050130032060630823 at mail.gmail.com>
on Sun, Jan 30, 2005 at 07:20:49PM +0800, rpowersau at gmail.com wrote:
> Kernel modules are parts of the kernel stored in special format on
> disk which may be loaded and unloaded dynamically when needed. It
> basically means you can add support for different things without
> recompiling your kernel.

We might amend that somewhat:

> Kernel modules are parts of the operating system stored in special
> format so they can be turned on and off when you need them. It
> basically means you can expand your computer's capabilities without
> having to upgrade.

But the message is not longer accurate, and it takes a lot of effort to
revise things for different audiences. The list is very diverse and the
author may not trained to write for specific user levels. You pay for
that sort of thing. As Mark said: it's just people having a crack at
helping other people. Unfortunate for novices that the quality of the
feedback will vary, causing alienation. Maybe that should be added to
the introductory message: if in doubt, ask for a different level of
assistance.