sources of support

Good post recently by Gary Newell at Everyday Linux User: "The 5 best sources of support for Linux."

His list:

1. Google
2. Linux Support Forums
3. IRC Chatrooms
4. YouTube
5. Yahoo Answers

In particular, I liked and agreed with what he had to say about Linux forums:

Now there are really some rules you should follow when using the forums.

1. Search the forum - It is highly likely that the question you are about to ask has been asked before. Searching the forum is not only polite because it saves the forum administrators constantly redirecting users to the post that answers the question but it means you get the answer to your problem sooner.

2. Find the right section of the forum to post your question - Posting your question in the wrong section of the forum will delay the response and it will again mean a moderator has to move the question to the correct forum.

3. Only ask your question in one section of the forum - Asking your question in multiple places within the same forum will just annoy the moderators and it will not get you an answer any quicker.
4. Be patient - People who post answers on forums are usually doing it for nothing. If you post a question and then refresh your browser 2 minutes later, find no answers and then buzz to see why nobody answered is considered bad form.

Forums are a great resource but unless your question has been asked before it can be some time before your question is answered. If you are looking for a more immediate answer then read on.

However, instead of "Google," the author should have written, "Web Searches" or something along those lines. I normally use DuckDuckGo. Not everyone uses Google.