Thoughts on all the Puppy sub forums

[fernan]

Hello.

Using Puppy since version 2.16 or earlier, I see this new puppy forum is divided in many small sub forums dedicated to each Puppy.

IMHO, this is not a very good idea, since there are a lot of "hardcore" linux users that could help people using other puppy derivates if the questions were published in one "Regular" forum, and I'm sure people won't be checking every single Sub Forum to see the questions.

Again, IMHO, having the average user questions all together at one sub forum, regardless of the Puppy version, would be better, more knowledge exchange. This way, dividing in so many small sub forums, divides also the help that can be given and received. I could have a problem setting up a printer or a firewall, and many puppy users could help regardless of the puppy version.

I'm sure other people will think exactly the opposite, but this has been my experience in other forums too. Dividing in so many sub categories makes the people to visit only one or 2 of those categories, missing a big part of the help and knowledge that could be exchanged between users.

Just an opinion, of course. I'm a very happy Puppy Linux user, all my computers (even my mom's) run different puppies (Y)

[wanderer]

not suggesting anyone do it

but you could have a recent posts thread
that just gathers all the posts on the forum
but leaves them in their own threads

like tinycore linux

that way everyone can see what everyone is doing
by just checking one thread

william

[rockedge]

@fernan What I do is then post in "Users" if I have a question or answer for lots of things Linux and not Puppy type specific.

AND there are some nifty features in the forum to see an overview of active topics across all sub-forums in one list.

For example click on the Mainline Distributions category link. Gives one list of all the most recent and active topics from all the Mainline Puppy Distros forum and sub-forums. So all those sub-forum topics melded together on a central list. See if it is helpful for you

[fernan]

Thanks for your answers.

Now I see the "Mainline Distributions" link, showing all the threads together, which is different from the "Mainline Puppy Linux Distros" link, showing a list of sub-forums.

A bit confusing at first, but that's what I was looking for: a place where all the threads are shown without entering to each sub-forum.

Regards !

[wiak]

One thing that is very important.
Is USB drives, being 100% sure to be found, by the boot process.
There has been tweaking of the initrd, to try and make this work 100%, for all possible computers.

The main problem, seems to be a timing issue.
...
But this is not available on a live CD or USB install, because the boot loader is the one in the Puppy version iso.
This has generic boot loader menu entries,

I think you are on the wrong thread or misunderstand. I am working on the initrd/init used by WeeDog Linux. It is entirely different in design to that of Puppy Linux.

[bigpup]

I think you are on the wrong thread or misunderstand. I am working on the initrd/init used by WeeDog Linux. It is entirely different in design to that of Puppy Linux.

Sorry, I did not know Weedog had that much of a different initrd/init.

I guess, this forum, not being specifically for Puppy Linux OS, is going to be confusing, all the time, to me and others.

[wiak]

I guess, this forum, not being specifically for Puppy Linux OS, is going to be confusing, all the time, to me and others.

It's not confusing to me. There is a forum FatDog, a forum EasyOS, a forum WeeDog, a forum DogHouse (slightly confusing I suppose since that's the DebianDogs) and so on - only confusing thing is that Puppy doesn't sit in that same forum structure but has to go it alone cos of some old tradition I suppose. Overall forum title is somewhat inaccurate, I'd agree - along with the single distro domain name, but yes I understand some forum members think forum created distros (if not Puppy derivatives) should never have been created - at least not here, but that is where we are... sigh... in terms of discussion and helpfulness at least, though clearly collaboration is a bit limited from some quarters, which is a big negative in practice actually and in response I no longer collaborate much either now of course - or even publish much...

Personally I think it would be better for all if the likes of you, bigpup, as you call yourself, embraced the rich diversity instead of disrupting what should have been a fertile sharing-with-respect-and-acknowledgement cohabitation. Not that it matters, none of these alternative distros need Puppy any more than it needs them. Unfriendliness is more than a bit of a turn-off though and that mainly comes from some in the Puppy world - haven't seen that kind of attitude from non-Puppy-only crowd, and not from a lot of Puppy users either. Narrow mind no good.

Anyway, rest assured, lots going to be coming out of WeeDogLinux stables (quite a bit already actually) and this forum space will be too small in practice. Same probably goes for the DogHouse DebianDogs, which have their own main website of course. Similar will happen with WeeDog. Nevertheless, I still like the limited space on this 'old' (in the sense of traditional) forum for letting forum colleagues know about WDL developments briefly and pointing to main release sources and website/blog/forum and so on (and chatting more generally - it's a forum of individuals I kind of 'know' afterall). But we'll see - maybe I'll get fed up with the neg attitude sorts and not bother any more here at all sooner or later.

[MochiMoppel]

I guess, this forum, not being specifically for Puppy Linux OS, is going to be confusing, all the time, to me and others.

#ToMeToo
For a different reason though. My startpage for the forum is not the Board index but the 'Active topics' search. Particularly on a mobile phone 'Active topics' gives much better info of and access to the newest posts. However we now have 2 forums called 'Programming' and they both are labeled just 'Programming' in the overwiew page, so clicking on the link leading to the post will jump to the post and will not easily reveal, in which of the 2 forums the user landed. Only the breadcrumb at the top will give a hint (Board index ‹WeeDog ‹Programming vs. Board index ‹Advanced Topics ‹Programming), but that's easy to overlook. Result is a post to the wrong forum.

Unambiguous names for the subforums may prevent such misunderstandings.

Screenshot.jpg (45.41 KiB) Viewed 495 times

[fredx181]

@bigpup

I guess, this forum, not being specifically for Puppy Linux OS, is going to be confusing, all the time, to me and others.

I think you are one of the very few who find it confusing.
In the old murga-linux forum, yes, it was confusing (topics about "other" projects were often posted in "Puppy Projects") , but nowadays it's a clearly separated section IMO (Debiandogs, EasyOs, Fatdog, WeeDog etc..).
Or maybe what you wrote is a way of saying that you don't like the presence of "other" projects in this forum, well... too late, it's a fact already

Fred

[wiak]

we now have 2 forums called 'Programming' and they both are labeled just 'Programming' in the overwiew page, so clicking on the link leading to the post will jump to the post and will not easily reveal, in which of the 2 forums the user landed. Only the breadcrumb at the top will give a hint (Board index ‹WeeDog ‹Programming vs. Board index ‹Advanced Topics ‹Programming), but that's easy to overlook. Result is a post to the wrong forum.

Unambiguous names for the subforums may prevent such misunderstandings.

Well, that's a fair point from MochiMoppel. Though funnily enough it was bigpup who caused that to occur. I originally made my all WeeDogLinux-related HowTo and Programming posts to the main areas labelled for Instructional HowTo's and Programming (since I also thought general collaboration was a good thing), but bigpup complained saying these "House Training" and "Advanced Topic" areas were intended as Advanced Topic areas for Puppy Linux and not for the likes of WeeDog. Can't have it both ways and if Puppy Area want to change their "Programming" title to something else (Puppy-related Programming??!) that is fine by me, they have plenty space to use larger subforum titles 'up there' - However... programming is programming and any actual scripts or programs I myself write nowadays are published only in WeeDog area though much is likely to be useful more widely (actually WeeDogLinux init has already been shown to work perfectly well in booting/controlling Puppy Linux albeit gives the increasingly more flexible WeeDogLinux layers and modes per its overlayfs coding rather than the limited a, f, z, y layers and Pupmodes).

I had stopped posting altogether into the Puppy-'reserved' areas but it remains a fact that some topics are good to collaborate about with individuals that have expertise, but maybe I should just accept that no collaboration at all is the name of the game per the likes of bigpup.

Personally, however, I have no doubt bigpup posted on purpose into this WeeDog area - been a while since I got close to some new major WeeDogLinux component release and I suppose it gave him an opportunity to talk irrelevantly about Puppy init - which is indeed a way to confuse WeeDogLinux users. I suppose it could have occurred via the active topic 'confusion' except that bigpup knows very well that 'wiak' does not post about Puppy Linux at all any more so his posting in response to my WDL first thread post is suspect.

I would suggest, however, that it would be a nonsense to post in a new topic in answer to the just made "first post" that clearly talks about a new init for WDL without realising it was about WDL... and not Puppy Linux - pretty difficult to be that much confused, I'd say. This thread first post clearly starts with:

So made a big push forward today. Got back to updating WDL initrd init script(s). Very tricky... no wonder I suspended work half way through to play chess...

But yes, there is certainly a chance a person might click on an active topic to read it only to find it was about WeeDogLinux and not Puppy Linux, but no-one forcing them to actually make a reply post.

Personally I am not biased in my post-reading habit: if a topic is about a technical topic I'm interested in I will most certainly click on it without caring if the end-distro is WeeDogLinux, DebianDogs, FatDog, or even... Puppy. Since the bigpup complaints I simply do not reply nowadays, but see no harm in reading, or should I not read Puppy topics either??? But for those that consider 'other' distros some kind of devil production, just read before you reply guys...

Finally, these 'confusion' complaints are off-topic. If bigpup or anyone else wanted to voice their confusion or reasons for it or complain more specifically about forum structure and usage then they should politely reserve such comments for that forum structure and usage area for administrators to consider and act or not act on. Not here: You are taking away from my purely technical thread about the new WeeDogLinux new initrd/init. viewforum.php?f=127 For example: viewtopic.php?p=29351#p29351

[perdido]

I guess, this forum, not being specifically for Puppy Linux OS, is going to be confusing, all the time, to me and others.

#ToMeToo
For a different reason though. My startpage for the forum is not the Board index but the 'Active topics' search. Particularly on a mobile phone 'Active topics' gives much better info of and access to the newest posts. However we now have 2 forums called 'Programming' and they both are labeled just 'Programming' in the overwiew page, so clicking on the link leading to the post will jump to the post and will not easily reveal, in which of the 2 forums the user landed. Only the breadcrumb at the top will give a hint (Board index ‹WeeDog ‹Programming vs. Board index ‹Advanced Topics ‹Programming), but that's easy to overlook. Result is a post to the wrong forum.

Unambiguous names for the subforums may prevent such misunderstandings.

Making the subforum names the exact same makes for better fun looking at the underlying prejudice in each response even after the person that posted in the wrong topic apologized and admitted he was mistaken.

<>

[wiak]

Making the subforum names the exact same makes for better fun looking at the underlying prejudice in each response even after the person that posted in the wrong topic apologized and admitted he was mistaken.
<>

Per my last post, please do not clutter WeeDogLinux threads with further off-topic comments. I already suggested using the following Forum structure discussion area for those who have more they wish to say about this off-topic matter:

viewtopic.php?p=29351#p29351

[bigpup]

Read the terms for using this forum, you agree to follow, by becoming a member of this forum!

[wiak]

Read the terms for using this forum, you agree to follow, by becoming a member of this forum!

No idea what that is supposed to mean, but stop posting off-topic on this WeeDogLinux thread now.

It is my opinion that you are disrupting this thread on purpose with your posts. The fact you are continuing to post off-topic here in above manner rather than appropriately using off-topic area for forum structure matters as I suggested is further evidence of your behaviour pattern.

[bigpup]

When you first log on to the forum.
You can left click on Quick links. (right top)
Several options for what you want to show.

I always click on new posts

A page comes up with every new post since the last time I logged on.

Unread posts is also a good one to select, but it can get to be a long list.

[bigpup]

having the average user questions all together at one sub forum, regardless of the Puppy version, would be better, more knowledge exchange. This way, dividing in so many small sub forums, divides also the help that can be given and received. I could have a problem setting up a printer or a firewall, and many puppy users could help regardless of the puppy version.

Problem is, no two Puppy versions are exactly the same and do everything, exactly the same way.
Simply using different Linux kernels is one important thing to consider.

But sure if they would start a topic with this basic information all the time!
Information we need to help you
viewtopic.php?p=816#p816

[wiak]

Have moved 'other' out-of-place bigpup post from WeeDog forum -> Programming to Puppy-related waitusb thread at: viewtopic.php?p=29201#p29201
Move it elsewhere if you wish (or delete that post altogether if bigpup no longer wants to post it), but nothing to do with WeeDogLinux initrd/init developments at all.

Please in future read what is being discussed before posting replies...