Conflicting linux documentation can go against linux philosophies

[axiomanarcho]

I have been reading into my distribution documentations recently while cloning a hdd to ssd and what I notice a lot about the ubuntu community in general is some of them don't adhere to the linux philosophy of " Do one thing and do it well." Alot of people send others on tangents.

While looking up how to clone a drive on askbuntu I got a lot of conflicting destructive commands for certain types of hardware and also in the documentation of ubuntu, when all that was actually needed was a simple dd command in terminal to clone my hd to my ssd. a lot of conclusive gibberish that is spewed onto these help websites goes against the ideas of certain scientific principles aswell, it is interesting to see in communitys how these things are taken so lightly.

My question to the community is should answer be more monitored to a proof of concept system, I know everyone has there own ideas But we as a community ARE the driving force behind linux and it's development.

[Elfy]

which wiki did you edit or reword?

[buzzingrobot]

"Do one thing and do it well" was, I suspect, spawned in the very early days of Unix in order to make a virtue out of the dearth of software available at that time, and the very limited capability of the hardware it ran on. It's a concept highlighted by many of the creators in Unix, and I was suitably enthusiastic about it when I read their books.

What it really was saying, though, is, for example, don't write a new sort program because Unix provides a perfectly good one.

But, if it isn't good enough -- not fast enough, say, for your job -- by all means write your own sort routine.

Developers develop, though, hardware changes and improves, software is forked, on and on.

The web *is* full of outdated and often incorrect information. Sites that publish content generated by users, like this one, AskUbuntu, etc., have to depend on other users to point out that something is wrong or inappropriate. If they had to pay people to perform that kind of editorial function, most of them would vanish. Bloggers and professional sites masquerading as bloggers seldom correct or delete previously published material.

[axiomanarcho]

That is pretty rude Elfy...

[Elfy]

not really - you've come here with comments on the wiki etc - I know I've edited pages, I just wondered which you'd done any editing on to deal with "a lot of conclusive gibberish that is spewed onto these help websites"

[tgalati4]

Everything in linux is a suggestion. If it works, then great. If it doesn't, then not so great.

[cariboo]

My question to the community is should answer be more monitored to a proof of concept system, I know everyone has there own ideas But we as a community ARE the driving force behind linux and it's development.

Who would you suggest moderate the more than 140 threads and 900 posts created each day on this Forum? There are only 30 moderation team members in many different time zones, all of who have real lives along with spending some of their free time volunteering to keep the Forums a great place.

This suggestion also goes against the tenet, that we are free to use Linux in any way we want to do anything we want.

[ian-weisser]

My question to the community is should answer be more monitored to a proof of concept system, I know everyone has there own ideas But we as a community ARE the driving force behind linux and it's development.

Generally, the moderators is the three big forums (Ubuntuforums, AskUbuntu, Discourse) look for Code of Conduct violations, abusive behavior, or malicious advice. Your complaint that some advice you received was destructive might fall within 'malicious advice.' If so, you should flag it.

I'm not sure what how a 'more monitored' forum would look different.
What additional guidelines are you proposing, and for which forums?

[vasa1]

In this forum, you can hit the report button if you find something objectionable. I don't know if there's a bean or rep barrier for that.

In Ask Ubuntu, I recall needing a certain minimum rep before you can comment or downvote.

Discourse doesn't seem to have taken off (as yet).

[grahammechanical]

But we as a community ARE the driving force behind linux and it's development.

No, we are not. Developers of Linux and Linux based software projects are the driving force.

I am a grateful user. I am not driving anything. I am certainly not going to become a "back-seat driver." I do not even have "purchasing power." I am not a customer. Ubuntu is not Linux. It would be wrong for Ubuntu users to force their views on the greater Linux community.

"If you do not like it, get involved and change it." I believe that to be one of the fundamental philosophies of Free and Open Source Software development. It may not be officially expressed exactly like that.

There are several areas in Ubuntu development where those of us who cannot write code can become part of the Ubuntu development community. One of those areas is writing Documentation (including Ubuntu Wiki articles).

http://community.ubuntu.com/

There is something that you have failed to notice about Linux. The same task can be done in several different ways. It is freedom.