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(!) [:/Discussion:Discussion]


This page is meant to collect frequently asked questions from the [http://lists.debian.org/debian-user debian-user] mailing list. The contents are licenced under the terms of GPLv2 or, in the event a DFSG compatible licence is applied to [http://wiki.debian.org wiki.debian.org] at large, then under that licence. Posting material to this page is an acceptance of this.

?Anchor(why)

Why bother

=== Why should I post to this list? I want to ask the developer/post to debian-devel/file a bug. Of course, you are free to do this. Almost all debian lists (including debian-devel) are open for anyone to post and Debian encourages users to file bugs in the Debian Bug Tracking System (BTS). BUT, please consider following points first:

If you considered all above points and still want to address debian-devel, then make sure:

In case you have doubts just post to debian-user, sometimes answers come within minutes.

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Using Debian

Should I be running Testing/Unstable(Sid) instead of Stable/Testing?

This is something that you as a user and administrator of your system have to decide for yourself. If you just need a few newer packages try http://www.backports.org before considering an upgrade. If you have Debian on a desktop machine testing might be an option, but it's not really recommended for production machines. If you want all the newest software Debian can provide and don't mind/can handle breakage then you could try unstable. Each Debian distribution has its pros and cons. Here are some:

Stable

Testing

Unstable (a.k.a. Sid)

Experimental

This is not a regular distribution (you cannot run on experimental), but it is mentioned here for completeness.

How dangerous is it to run a mixed system?

That depends on how many and what packages you are using, but it can be more dangerous than running pure unstable. Installing packages from different releases can cause complex problems which are less likely to occur with packages from a single release. One example is that existing packages may become uninstalled due to internal restructuring of central components within the testing or unstable branches.

Try [http://www.backports.org backports] first. If you can't find what you need there you can also backport a package yourself.

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My harddisks/usb sticks/external drives don't always have the same device name. How can I prevent this from happening?

There are several methods, but it seems the easiest method is to use labels instead of device names. Basically in fstab you just replace the /dev/sda1 (or hda2 or whatever) with a LABEL=mylabel. If you also have problems booting (because your / partition is assigned a different device name) you will also have to edit /boot/grub/menu.lst. Don't edit the real stanza because your changes will be overwriten on the next kernel upgrade. Instead find the line:

# kopt=root=/dev/hda1

and replace with

# kopt=LABEL=my_root_label

After you are done just run /sbin/update-grub.

Another alternative to using labels is to use UUID. You can find the UUID of a device with blkid(8).

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Software Packages

Debian is known for its robust, extensive and easy to use package system. The operations that can be performed with regard to package management are sophisticated, easily scripted, and make running Debian a relatively simple and mistake-proof experience. The following questions all deal with some aspect of the package management.

Which is the best package manager?

While "the best" package manager is a matter of personal opinion, the Debian project and many Debian developers and users recommend aptitude. See [http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2004/04/msg03138.html here] for more details.

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Where is the foo package?

A variety of tools exists to answer this very frequent question: apt-cache search foo will return all the packages with foo in the name or description; aptitude search foo will return all packages with foo in the package name. These are just two of the many methods. Read man apt-cache or man aptitude as appropriate. Finally, http://packages.debian.org also features a handy search engine and don't forget your friend http://www.google.com.

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Program foo is looking for (or lacking) file bar. Where is it?

This is simple: apt-file update && apt-file search bar. grep as appropriate. man apt-file.

Does Debian have Firefox/What is Iceweasel?

You really should see [#package-search Where is the foo package?] above, but Debian ships with Iceweasel, a rebranded Firefox (reference needed).

I am running a mixed system. How can I find out what packages are from which distribution?

You definitely like to play with fire if you got this far, but can't answer this simple question. Ok, enough patronizing :), try apt-show-versions.

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Posting on debian-user

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How should I post/reply to debian-user?

Please see the [http://www.debian.org/MailingLists/#codeofconduct Code of conduct] for Debian mailing lists. It is also helpful if you ask your questions in a [http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html smart way] and answer by [http://www.netmeister.org/news/learn2quote.html quoting] properly.

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Should I be subscribed to post to debian-user?

Debian has a policy of open mailing lists. This means most lists are open for anyone to write to (the occasional spam resulting from this is unavoidable, but only a minor inconvenience - the list has excellent filters). However, list subscribers can not guess if you are subscribed or not, so you should request replies to be CC'd to you (or set Reply-to: accordingly).

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I subscribed the list, but my mailbox is flooded with mail

The debian-user mailing list is a very high traffic list (numbers?), but there are ways to cope with it:

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What is top-posting (and why shouldn't I do it)?

Both questions can be answered with this example (seen in some sig):

A: Because it messes up the way you read

Q: Why is top-posting bad?

A: Writing your answer before the question

Q: What is top-posting?

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Why doesn't this list facilitate easy replies to the list (a.k.a. reply-to-munging)?

Short answer: it's against the standards. See [http://www.unicom.com/pw/reply-to-harmful.html this] document for a thorough explanation. In case your e-mail client doesn't support List-reply (ReplyToListEmailClients) then please use Reply-to-all and delete all but the list address.

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My posts are considered spam and rejected

Try subscribing to the [http://lists.debian.org/whitelist/ whitelist].

?Anchor(posting-gmail)

I'm posting via gmail's servers, but I never receive my own posts (but other list mail is ok)

Gmail has a somewhat different (as in against the standards) view of how a mail server should behave. If you still want to use gmail for posting here are a few possible workarounds:

It seems Gmail considers this to be a feature and is not willing to change it, although requested by many users. You could try writing them about this as well, maybe they will eventually listen.


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