Re: Your operating system

The message you sent (to [email protected]) is to a mailing list. I'm not
part of the OpenBSD team, but just another user.

General questions and comments should probably go to the
[email protected] mailing list. That's where most user discussion and Q&A
happen.

> However, learning about this operating system has to be the most
> frustrating and infuriating undertaking I have ever experienced, being
> that I can't find any information beyond a couple of books and the man
> pages.  Don't get me wrong, the man pages are indeed informative, but
> (big "but") they are written for people who possess degree level
> knowledge of your operating system.

The documentation largely assumes some basic UNIX knowlege. If you don't
have any UNIX background you're going to feel lost for a while. This is
true for pretty much any operating system, but it's not obvious once
you've learned your way around Windows (for example) just how much you
already have invested in learning.

> I get the impression that the available information is an
> insurmountable wall and judging from some things I have read in books
> and on the internet, there seems to be some hostility toward those of
> us who are new (nOObs) to OpenBSD.

It's good you got that impression. It'll teach you to be cautious and do
your homework before asking questions. ;-) That said, everyone gets
stuck. If it seems like you have indeed done your homework but still
don't get something you'll probably find some good help.

> I have been trying since version 3.6 to set up a box as a router.  I
> try, my brain swells, I get angry and frustrated and I give up for a
> few weeks and come back for more senseless torture.  I usually have no
> trouble learning new things IT related, and I am quite adept at
> teaching myself new things, but sometimes when I am following the
> instructions found in a man page and something goes wrong, I have no
> means to find out why.

Since 3.6 with no luck? You've waited too long to ask for help. Building
a router is not trivial. Doing it on an unfamiliar OS is an exercise in
masochism. But since 3.6 you've had time to learn more than enough, if
you hadn't been stuck for so long.

> For example, right now I can't configure a single ethernet card that
> is compatable with OpenBSD (I know, I checked) using a hostname.*
> file, and  Netstart just simply will not do anything.  I follow the
> man pages but nothing.  I look and look on the internet, and nothing.
> I check the OpenBSD books and UNIX books that I have, but nothing, and
> I can find no one who can break this down a bit so that I can
> troubleshoot at my level of knowledge.  I know I can't give up,
> because that would be giving in.  I am tired of the headaches though
> and right now the old computer I'm using does nothing more than eat up
> more electricity while I develop an aneurysm.

First thing is to examine your dmesg. The 'dmesg' command will give it
to you. Your network card should show up along with a lot of other
things. Search the dmesg for 'not configured' to see if any hardware you
care about it not recognized. Also, when you are having problems and
want to post a question you will want to include the output of dmesg if
there's any chance at all that it might help. If in doubt, include
dmesg.

> Can you point me somewhere that I can get help, (not the man pages
> please, if you have any decency at all).  I imagine there are legions
> of nOObs out there, like me, who want to learn, who are willing to do
> the reading, but we need to take it one step at a time, and not take
> on Mount OpenBSD in a single bound.

I don't suppose you've found the FAQ at www.openbsd.org/faq/ yet? It's
organized by topic, unlike most of the man pages. It's updated and well
written. It's valuable to most everyone, but it's invaluable to a n00b.

Other things you SHOULD look into...

Are there any OpenBSD, BSD, or even Linux users groups in your area?

Consider signing up for the OpenBSD newbies mailing list. It's not an
official OpenBSD list, but it's run by one of the developers.

> Just one more thing.  There are some things that are quite easy, such
> as the install process.  I have never had a problem with that, and
> UNIX seems no more difficult to learn than DOS.  I look forward to
> using this operating system one day.

UNIX is indeed more difficult to learn that DOS, but only because it
does more. But it's not much more difficult, and the payoffs are
tremendous.

--
Darrin Chandler            |  Phoenix BSD User Group  |  MetaBUG
[email protected]   |  http://phxbug.org/      |  http://metabug.org/
http://www.stilyagin.com/  |  Daemons in the Desert   |  Global BUG
Federation

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