[CentOS-docs] Suggestions on "I Need the Kernel Source" Wiki pages

[Antti J. Huhtala]

la, 2008-07-12 kello 22:02 -0700, Akemi Yagi kirjoitti:
> On Sat, Jul 12, 2008 at 9:31 PM, Scott Robbins <scottro at nyc.rr.com> wrote:
<snip>
> > Perhaps then, it is worth adding a line or two explaining that these are
> > backticks, (and possible even mentioning where they are on the QWERTY
> > keyboard.)  The newcomer is often going to assume that they're single
> > quotes.
> >
> > Scott Robbins
> 
> When I come to think about it, building a custom kernel is not really
> for people who require help at that level.  Not that I am discouraging
> it but, especially in CentOS, this kind of practice should be done by
> those who know very well what they are doing.  
I respectfully beg to disagree. Though I only vaguely realized there
might be a functional difference between single quotes and backticks, is
there a RFC or something stating what every Unix/Linux user *must* know
before attempting custom kernel compilation? I think not.
If there is a certain level of knowledge one must have before such
attempts, why give *any* advice in the form of HowTos? People really in
the know do not need it anyway.
On the other hand, if some advice is given, why not make it as clear as
possible without resorting to excessive detail? In my case, it would
have been sufficient to say: "Note: The characters around `uname -m`
are 'backticks', not apostrophes."
> For one thing, they
> cannot expect official support from CentOS.  For another, they may
> well break their system.  If this sounds too harsh, I apologize.
I may be a CentOS novice but I worked as hardware-oriented data
communications consultant (VAX/VMS environment) for 18 years and I've
done a bit of programming for my own various purposes - not really
professionally, however. 
I am perfectly willing to risk breaking one kernel as long as I am also
able to return to one of supported kernels if all else fails. I cannot
speak for anyone else on this, of course.
> However, I want to add that CentOS community members do help each
> other for matters that may be outside the areas of official support by
> the CentOS team.  The CentOS forums or mailing list are there for
> everyone to participate in.
> 
Thank you for your comments, Akemi. My original post *was* about docs -
and I wrote it here on your suggestion :-)
> Akemi -- almost forgetting the fact this is the -docs mailing list...

Antti