Looking for Linux Tech-Support?

When I first ran my Linux distribution almost a decade ago, there weren't many places I could turn to for help. Whatever mailing list you tuned into, everybody seemed to be concerned with improving the Linux kernel or some other gibberish task. If ever, my newbie queries always returned back with a single word -- RTFM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RTFM). That's until Jeremy Garcia fresh into his first full-time Linux job, decided to give something back to the community. His website, LinuxQuestions.org, soon became the one-stop source for all Linux-related user queries.

In his interview with Packt Columnist Mayank Sharma, the site's founder, Jeremy Garcia, discusses how LinuxQuestions.org has out grown its forum board-only image and spawned a hardware compatibility list, a wiki, a social bookmarking site, and a podcast.

Looking for Linux Tech-Support?

When I first ran my Linux distribution almost a decade ago, there weren't many places I could turn to for help. Whatever mailing list you tuned into, everybody seemed to be concerned with improving the Linux kernel or some other gibberish task. If ever, my newbie queries always returned back with a single word -- RTFM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RTFM). That's until Jeremy Garcia fresh into his first full-time Linux job, decided to give something back to the community. His website, LinuxQuestions.org, soon became the one-stop source for all Linux-related user queries.

In all these years I am yet to come across a single Linux user that hasn't, at one point or the other, benefited from LinuxQuestions. For the statistically inclined, LinuxQuestions's two hundred thousand registered members had posted over 2 million posts as per stats available in December last year!

In this interview, the site's founder, Jeremy Garcia, discusses how LinuxQuestions.org has out grown its forum board-only image and spawned a hardware compatibility list, a wiki, a social bookmarking site, and a podcast.


Mayank Sharma: You must have been asked this a thousand times, but for our readers could you recap on the origins of LinuxQuestions.org?

Jeremy Garcia: I had been using Linux for a while and had just gotten my first full time Linux job. I wanted to give something back to a community that I felt had given me quite a bit. A short time later, LQ came to be. That was about 6 1/2 years ago and the growth of the site continues to amaze me.


MS: How has LQ evolved over the years to incorporate a wiki, podcast, radio, ISO downloads, and such?

JG: In addition to being an Open Source enthusiast I'm also a bit of a web enthusiast I guess, so I tend to keep up with the latest technologies. Where it makes sense I like to incorporate them into LQ. For instance our first podcast was in November of 2004. We also keep a close eye on the community and add new sites/features where we perceive a need. We try not to duplicate effort whenever possible, so we try to be very cognizant of what others are doing.


MS: Why do you think people still turn to forums for help in this age of IRC (Internet Relay Chat) and mailing lists?

JG: I'd say mailing lists and IRC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC) likely appeal to a different kind of user in general than web-based forums. I think there is clearly a desire for all of them and in the end the three are probably more complimentary then competitive.


MS: With all the good documentation floating around, do you think it's a good idea to RTFM a lazy newbie?

JG: We never RTFM at LQ. We're here to help, and pointing new users in the right direction and educating them on how to help themselves is a big part of that.


MS: Have you actually worked on the forum software that drives the website? I am asking because I am sure most of the queries that people have would have already been answered in an earlier thread. For example, do you have a better search?

JG: We constantly add new features based on member feedback and continually tweak things from a performance perspective. I think we were one of the first major forums to incorporate tagging for instance, which gives members an additional way to classify and find information. The main site search is currently based on MySQL FULLTEXT (http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/fulltext-search.html), but we are also investigating alternatives. A good search is a critical piece to a site with as much information as LQ.


MS: You've just launched TreoQuestions.org. Several other everyday devices like mobile phones are now running on Linux. When do you expect people will start pushing you for a dedicated forum for these?

JG: Rumors that Palm would be releasing a Linux-based Treo was actually the impetus for starting TQO. If other major Linux-based phones are released it's certainly possible that we'll work them in somehow.


MS: Of all the forums on LQ, the one on distributions seem to have the most sub-forums. How do you ensure people get the correct answers to their queries? Is someone from the distro involved in any way?

JG: There are currently about 55 forums in total. Each distribution forum you see at LQ has official participation from that distribution. We welcome all distros to participate and any distro that currently doesn't have a forum at LQ but is interested in having one should feel free to contact me. As for making sure questions are answered, while there is of course no guarantee that you'll receive an answer we do try our best.

We make 0 reply threads very easy to find (we even have a 0 reply RSS feed) and many members make it a point to seek out questions that haven't been answered. We also have some heuristics in place to ensure unanswered threads are seen by as many people as possible.


MS: Apart from new users asking questions and experienced users offering help, any particular areas where you could use a hand?

JG: We're always looking for people to participate and can use help in a variety of places. For example, the LQ Wiki (http://wiki.linuxquestions.org/) is a great place for people to jump in and start contributing. We're also looking for contributors to our new Articles and Editorials section. 


MS: Like I said earlier, LQ has grown to include a wiki, a radio show, etc. What can we look forward to next?

JG: We'll keep a close eye both on our community and the web in general and make additions as we see opportunities. We recently added social networking and social bookmarking aspects to the site and each member now has their own LQ Blog.

We hope to improve both the HCL (a Linux Hardware Compatibility List) and the search in the short term and also have some exciting new features to existing sections on the horizon, but what's beyond that I can't really say.

In the end, our members are what make the site what it is, so we'll continue to do whatever we can to serve their needs. Without them, after all, LQ would be nothing.
 

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