Re: [fetchmail-users] Fetchmail Socket error on asatellite connection

[Rob M. <rob...@gm...>]

On 4/13/07, Matthias Andree <mat...@gm...> wrote:
> Rob MacGregor schrieb:
>
> You're most welcome on this task - I haven't kept a close eye on what
> part of the information is outdated and what not, and I've so far only
> removed the most obvious stale stuff.

Strange, nobody likes doing documentation :)

> I'd like your view on this: Should we provide a short (1 - 2 pages if
> printed) document on how to get support efficiently" - perhaps along
> DJB's[1] lines of 'what did you do, what did the computer do, what did
> you expect' - ESR's smart questions is right, but long-winding for
> someone who is on the verge of panicking.

I think that, and a simple flow (diagram?) showing how it fits
together so people can more easily understand.  I suspect part of the
"problem" is that less technical people are using *nix these days,
meaning that previous assumptions are no longer valid (and that's in
general, not specific to fetchmail by any means).

Some form of diagnosis tool(s) wouldn't be a bad idea either, though
I've no idea what form that would take.  Enough to confirm that the
basic networking part is functional and that fetchmail can (or cannot)
talk to the remote server.

Well, I've got a few days off work now so II'll give this some more thought.

> I also think if you want to take a stab at splitting the FAQ, we can
> arrange for Subversion access with Graham - let's take this part
> off-list or to -devel however.

Devel probably makes most sense and I am subscribed there (CCd for
this mail).  That way others can throw their 0.02$CURRENCY in :)

> You'll see I worded carefully to give my *personal* view, without any
> hints towards what my right hand of the support should do, and I'd say
> do what pleases *you* most, unless it's treating people without dignity.

Well, given that bugs will only be fixed in the current stable
version, there's little point in trying to support older versions
(which, IMO, is the right approach).

Beyond that, if people won't/don't/can't do what they're asked to do
then there's not really much point in continuing to flog the
proverbial horse.  In this case the OP did at least provide the
directly fetchmail related info, just nothing about his (unusual)
comms setup.

-- 
                 Please keep list traffic on the list.

Rob MacGregor
      Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he
        doesn't become a monster.                  Friedrich Nietzsche