Re: META: Guide to the PostgreSQL mailing lists

Hi Richard,

Would you mind if this was put in the new collaborative infrastructure,
so that people can add comments and make suggestions directly?

:-)

Regards and best wishes,

Justin Clift

Richard Huxton wrote:
>
> I suggested a "guide to the lists" email the other day on pgsql-general.
> Here's my first draft - is this going to be of any use?
>
> - Richard Huxton
>
> ---Begin message---
> This message is a guide to using the PostgreSQL mailing lists, available via
> email and newsgroups. It describes the lists, how to subscribe and
> unsubscribe and how best to post a message.
>
> The Lists
> =========
> There are over a dozen different lists, and choosing the right one will help
> to get a quick response. The "novices","sql" and "general" lists are a good
> place to start. A full list is available at:
>
> http://www.postgresql.org/users-lounge/index.html
>
> Subscribing / Unsubscribing
> ===========================
> If you are familiar with the majordomo mailing list manager, all the standard
> commands work over email. The easiest method though might be to use the
> web-form at:
>
> http://developer.postgresql.org/mailsub.php
>
> You can use this form to subscribe and unsubscribe, and also choose whether to
> receive mail as a digest (a whole day's messages merged together). You can
> also choose not to receive any mail (see the Newsgroups section below for why
> you'd want to do that).
>
> If you want to change your settings after subscribing you can do so at the URL
> below. You'll need to know your email address and the password you were
> provided with when you subscribed (you *did* keep that didn't you?). Just
> click on the "Sign In" link then "Unsubscribe or Change Settings".
>
> http://webmail.postgresql.org/cgi-bin/mj_wwwusr
>
> Newsgroups
> ==========
> If you would rather use a newsgroup feed for PostgreSQL rather than email, it
> still makes sense to subscribe. Use the form above but select "No" for
> "Receive mail?". This means you won't be sent any mail, but can still use
> your email address to send messages. If you don't subscribe your messages
> will have to be inspected by a (very overworked) volunteer, in which case
> please be patient.
>
> Before you Post
> ===============
> Firstly, please make sure you have checked the documentation - the manuals,
> the FAQ and techdocs can help with 99% of the problems you might encounter.
> Secondly, check the mailing list archives and see if someone else has had the
> same problem. All these resources are linked to from:
>
> http://www.postgresql.org/users-lounge/index.html
>
> Finally, if English is not your first language, there are some translated
> documents linked to from that page (please feel free to volunteer if your
> language is not there). The mailing-lists tend to use English, but are a
> worldwide effort, so don't worry if you aren't fluent.
>
> Posting a question
> ==================
> First, choose a meaningful subject: "DB problems" is too vague, "Unable to
> connect from Access" is much better and will attract the attention of people
> who can help.
>
> Second, include all the relevant information people will need to help you. If
> you are having problems installing, provide the operating system (e.g. RedHat
> 7.3) and method (installing from source) along with the version of PostgreSQL
> (7.2) and where the problem occurred (I ran ./configure and it gave the
> following output).
>
> If you are having problems with a query provide an example including the table
> definitions and SQL you are trying to run. If you want to improve performance
> also provide the number of rows in each table and the output of EXPLAIN for
> your query.
>
> Finally
> =======
> If your message doesn't get an answer, wait a couple of days and re-post. Make
> sure you provided all the information required and mention that it's your
> second attempt. Don't be offended - sometimes with all the traffic on the
> lists a message can be overlooked.
>
> If you've found the lists useful, please try and help out someone else. This
> is a community effort and there's always someone out there who knows less
> than you. Also, a "thank you" is always welcome - the people answering
> questions are volunteers just like you.
>
> If you find any errors in this message or think it needs changes, please
> subscribe to pgsql-docs(at)postgresql(dot)org and send your suggestions.
>
> Version: 0.2
> Changed: 2002-11-11
>
> ---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
> TIP 2: you can get off all lists at once with the unregister command
> (send "unregister YourEmailAddressHere" to majordomo(at)postgresql(dot)org)

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who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the
first group; there was less competition there."
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