Re: FAQ - etiquette - and how to get an answer.

On Sat, 28 Dec 2002 19:04:15 -0000, in comp.databases.oracle.server, "Jonathan Lewis" <jonathan_at_jlcomp.demon.co.uk> scribbled:

>There are several FAQs about the Oracle database
>scattered around the Internet, and many ways of
>finding answers to the simpler questions about Oracle
>very quickly.
>
>The following list is a suggestion of where you might
>find answers to questions that you feel should have an
>easy answer.
>
>
>The Co-operative Oracle Users' FAQ
>http://www.jlcomp.demon.co.uk/faq/ind_faq.html
>
>
>The archive for this news group
>http://www.google.com
> select the GROUPS tab
> then work through the list to
> comp -> databases -> oracle
>
>
>
>A search engine for searching the Oracle manuals
>for Oracle 8.1.7 and 9.0.1 exists at
>http://tahiti.oracle.com
>
>
>Oracle technology Network (free registration) which
>includes documentation and sample code fragments
>http://technet.oracle.com
>
>
>Oracle Metalink (requires a support licence) contains
>a number of forums, a searchable knowledge base,
>and a searchable bug database.
>http://www.oracle.com/support/metalink/index.html
>
>
>Thomas Kyte is an Oracle employee who writes the
>popular Ask Tom column in the Oracle magazine,
>and maintains a website holding many real-life
>questions and answers at:
>http://asktom.oracle.com
>
>
>Steve Adams is a highly respected member of the
>Oracle community and his website, apart from the
>wealth of information it contains, also has a
>search engine which indexes a select sub-set of
>the Oracle-related websites that are on the Internet.
>http://www.ixora.com.au
>
>
>If you want to help the newsgroup help you then:
>
>a) Check the at least the first two resources above
> before posting your message. They may contain a
> discussion document that gives you more help than
> a direct answer to your specific question could.
> It is worth mentioning the resources you have
> checked as a lead-in to your question.
>
>
>b) Quote the Oracle version number, and operating
> system that you are running on. Answers that are
> good for version 7 may be 2nd-rate for version 8 and
> completely stupid for version 9.
>
>
>c) If something "doesn't work", that doesn't give
> anyone a clue about the problem. Always quote
> any error messages you get, and tell us a bit about
> the environment (e.g. SQL*Plus, VB, pl/sql called
> from Pro*C).
>
>
>d) Feedback is important - if you find a good answer
> to the question you asked, post it to the newsgroup.
> (If it is an article on a website, email me below with
> the question, site, comment, and the URL and I can
> add it as a reference to the FAQ).
>
>
>e) If someone has got you out of a hole, it's quite
> a nice touch to thank them (possibly be direct mail)
> And if they haven't managed to help, it's quite useful
> for everyone to explain what went wrong when you
> tried their solution.
>
>
>f) RTFM is always a valid answer - though we would
> hope that it would be phrased in a reasonably
> friendly way, and accompanied by a URL or
> other pointer to the appropriate bit of the manual.
>
>
>
>g) If you have used one of the search methods above,
> and subsequently see a question asked on the same
> topic, please consider posting the address of the resource
> to the person asking the question.

I want to thank you for your effort in compiling this list. One of the most difficult thing for those of us who *try* to RTFM is, like has been said earlier, which FM to read! Searching online is great, but finding the "good" sites among all the "junk" is difficult also. Having a list of sites that are recommended by DBAs is a wonderful thing. :-)

Thanks, again, from one of the newbies who does try to research first.

-- 
Teresa Redmond
Programmer/Analyst II
Anteon Corporation
tredmond_at_anteon.com
Oracle 8i, 8.1.5, on NT4