As much as we've tried to make this book a comprehensive reference for RPM, there are going to be times when you'll need additional help. The best way to connect with other that use RPM is to try one of the following mailing lists.
Red Hat Software, Inc. maintains a mailing list specifically for RPM. In order to subscribe to the list, it's necessary to send a mail message to:
rpm-list-request@redhat.com
On the message's subject line, place the word subscribe. After a short delay, you should receive an automated response with general information about the mailing list.
To send messages to the list, address them to:
rpm-list@redhat.com
As with other on-line forums, it's advisable to ``lurk'' for a while before sending anything to the list. That way, you'll be able to see what types of questions are acceptable for the list. Let the list's name be your guide; if the message you want to send doesn't have anything to do with RPM, you shouldn't send it to rpm-list!
In general, the flavor of rpm-list is a bit biased towards RPM's development, building packages, and issues surrounding the porting of RPM to other systems. If your question is more along the lines of, How do I use RPM to install new software? consider reviewing the first half of this book and lurking on rpm-list a while first.
The redhat-list mailing list is meant to serve as a forum for users of Red Hat Software's Linux operating system. If your questions concerns the use of RPM on Red Hat Linux, then the redhat-list is a good place to start. To subscribe, send a message to:
redhat-list-request@redhat.com
On the message's subject line, place the word subscribe. After a short delay, you should receive an automated response with general information about the mailing list. As with rpm-list, it's best to lurk for a while before posting to the list
To send messages to the list, address them to:
redhat-list@redhat.com
Some people might find the number of messages on redhat-list more than they can handle. However, there is a digest version of the list available. Each digest consists of one or more messages sent to redhat-list. The digest is sent out when the collected messages reach a certain size. Therefore, a digest might have one very long message, or twenty smaller ones. In either case, you'll have the collected knowledge of the Red Hat Software development team and their many customers delivered in one message.
To subscribe to redhat-digest, send a message to:
redhat-digest-request@redhat.com
On the message's subject line, place the word subscribe. After a short delay, you should receive an automated response with general information about the mailing list.
To send messages to the list, address them to:
redhat-list@redhat.com
As always, observe proper ``netiquette'' - lurk before you leap!