I'm almost completely new to Linux. In the last month or so I've got three machines running Slackware 11 in various configurations. Each machine has it's own little problems and niggles that i haven't fixed.

So... i have a bunch of small and not so small questions on how to do things on each machine. Obviously i don't want to create a dozen threads to ask each question. I'm also not sure of the correct forum in which to ask each question.

Here is a selection of things I'm trying to sort out:

* LAMP on a 8 year old desktop.
* USB peripherals
(scanner, camera, memory key, mp3 player, mouse, tablet, ext HDD)
* hibernation/system suspend on two laptops
* wine/photoshop from Slackware
* dhcp issues
(my IP address seems to increase with each boot)
* wireless issues
(signal drops out every so often - no pattern as far as i can tell)
* laptop proprietary stuff
(jog dial, sony programable power key, built in webcam)
* cd-burning

I've got to various stages with these and a number of other things. I google for solutions, i test things with live cds, i search the forums... but i always have another question. Should i make a new thread for every question/problem? Or should i put all the details in one post? Where should i post them? Can i use this one thread for every problem on my machine and how I've fixed it?

As i expect to be asking questions (and hopefully eventually providing some answers) here for a long time, I'd like to know how best to do it.

Laconic

You should ask each question in it's own post. If you don't the post will get terribly long and confusing for people trying to read it and help you out.

Be careful of other people's time as well as your own. You may find it beneficial to only ask two or three questions (one question per post) at a time as testing responses and responding to posters can take a considerable amount of time.

hth

If the questions are related, post them in a single thread. If you post several unrelated questions in a single thread, it's possible that some will be overlooked when answers are provided.

Also, keeping related questions grouped together makes searching easier.

Hi,

Welcome to Slackware!

It's good that you have given some thought to the way you should present the problem(s).

I would suggest that you create a system log for each of the machines. You will find this a valuable tool to assist you in diagnosis and solving problems on the machines. The system log will also provide you a trail to allow you to trace out a problem. This same log can be used to compile your problems for presentation.

To formulate a problem and to present the problem to someone else to solve or assist in the solution(s) can be difficult. You need to know How to Ask Questions the Smart Way.
Any of the the problems that are related or cause another problem to form then you should include them together with all relevant information.

Forum selection can be difficult to decide. If the problem is device specific and not distribution related then the decision should be easy. Yet, a lot of device problems can be distribution specific. Not to knock anyone but I would not ask a network specific question that is related to Slackware in the fedora forum. Yet posting the same question in the network forum will get you a variety of responses.

If the post is not forum related, you will be responded to by the moderator of said forum. Most will respond with a positive answer if they can before moving the post to the right forum.

You should also post specific information, distribution, kernel, hardware information when necessary. If you place some of the information in your sig then you would not need to include that information in the body of the post.