Mike A. Harris wrote: >On Thu, 6 Jun 2002, Thomas Dodd wrote: > >>This needs to be documented. In the release notes. In the man pages. >>In the help system. And espicially in the configuration tools. >> >>When doing an upgrade/install mention a file on the CD, and ways >>to access it, so when a user has trouble with the new >>Xserver/driver they know where to look for help. The file(s) >>should mention any know problems, like some S3 cards don't work >>with the new 4.0 driver, some solutions (get a different card, >>use the 3.3.x server, or use the SVGA driver), and a place to >>look for updates to the file(@redhat.com). >> >> > >Sure, that is fine for issues that we know about. But the >majority of such knowledge is gained _after_ we release, not >before we release. These S3 changes were in place about 4-6 >months or so prior to getting any bug reports. It is not very >easy to let users know stuff in the documentation and >RELEASE-NOTES if we find it out 2 months after we make a release. > >Any and all updates to any files are available via up2date or on >updates.redhat.com. That is standard. If there isn't an update >available in either location then there isn't any file@redhat.com >to update. > > I've never seen an updated RELEASE-NOTES though. Perhaps a VIDEO-NOTES, that is keep up to date as bug reports come in It has a link to www.redhat.com/video-7.3.html, where the most up to date information can be found. For example, you have had several reporst of S3 problems, but where does a person go to find out about them? Or where to get suggested fixes? Put the know ones on the CD, and new o9nse added to a static location mentioned in the file on the CD. >>This helps for the windows converts who are accustomed to >>reboot, reinstall to fix problems. The installer can detect that >>the current version is already installed, and offer solutions >>instead of reinstalling. >> >> > >I don't understand what you're suggesting here. > A hook in anaconda, aimed at windows users who think reinstall the OS is a normal solution :) If I'm installing RHL-7.3, and I already have RHL-7.3 installed, ask me if I would like to start a trouble shooter. This then displays help files and weblinks to fix subsystem problems. Like the VIDEO-NOTES, that may have been missed. >I plan on improving a few messages here and there to that extent, >however... What help files exactly are you refering to? > > The VIDEO-NOTES file above. When you find the "use SVGA server" suggestion, mention to report you needed it. The file that has the suggestion is the best place to mention reporting the issue. >>>Another thing I'm planning on doing is writing an XFree86 >>>troubleshooting and debugging HOWTO. A lot of display corruption >>> >>> >>This is a good start. Just make it very visible, and maintained. >>If the documentation isn't visible/known it's useless. >> >> > >It will appear on http://people.redhat.com/mharris/ somewhere. >Once I've got it minimally ready, I'll put it there and fire an >email off here. If it goes well, perhaps it could be moved to >our main website in the future. > While those of use who follow the list know about the people.redhat.com site, the users who are likely to need the information don't. So they need a big message that tells them to look there. -Thomas
