How to Help a Newbie

I was once a newbie to Linux. That was several years ago now, but I remember the feeling of using it for the first time. It was a mixture excitement and fear. I was excited by the challenge and that this was a door opening to me. I was fearful because I was good at using Windows and really knew nothing about what I was getting in to.

Unfortunately, many newbies open that door and it gets slammed in their face. That is never the intent of the person trying to help. The Linux community is nothing, if not welcoming. We want new users. We want to share our skill and knowledge to help them. We know that Linux is about freedom and empowerment. We want others to have what we take for granted. So, where do we go wrong?

I am a former educator. I am also active on several forums. I have seen first hand how newbies and experienced users work together. I have seen the good and the bad. This is not meant to be a criticism of anyone in particular. I hope that it is helpful and that readers will add their own insights into how to help newcomers to Linux.

1. Be warm and welcoming

This is important. It sounds obvious, but you would be surprised at how brusk or business-like and impersonal many users in help forums can be. We need to acknowledge the steps that a user has already made and try to connect personally. Asking for help places the person in a vulnerable spot. We need to be aware of that and help them relax.

As a teacher, I know that learning takes place in an environment and my success has as much to do with creating a positive learning climate as it does with my personal ability to teach. We need skills, but we need to be able to connect. When someone is reaching out for help, we need to extend a welcoming hand.

2. Get background information

Learners arrive with sets of skills and knowledge. It is important for me to establish the baseline so that I can take them to the next level. Adult learners are able to communicate their experience, so it is just a matter of asking a few relevant questions.

We need to establish their level of expertise and their comfort level. What have they been using? What have they done in the past that might be pertinent? If someone has never installed an operating system before, then they will need to be prepared for it in advance. If we have done this, then we know what things they will need to do beforehand and we can improve their chances for success.

We may be only able to take them one step, but that it is important that it is the right step.

3. Determine the severity of the situation

Most users usually start with the problem with something like this, “I can’t get the sound to work on Ubuntu 8.04″. But we need more information. We need to establish whether the sound once worked and it has since stopped. We need to know what they did immediately before it stopped or what they have tried to do to problem solve it.

I have been in the situation where someone has hopped from forum to forum and has made all sorts of changes to their system. Initially they may have had a totally different problem and took someone’s advice in good faith only to find that we are discussing a secondary problem. The advice of one person fixed problem A, but now we are working on problem B.

It is also important that we establish whether they depend on this computer. This will give us a level of urgency to the problem and it will keep us from making suggestions that may leave them worse off. Sound not working is one thing, but not having a computer is worse. If this is a second computer, then we can afford to be more aggressive in our approach.

Most obviously, we need for them to tell us what they have in the way of hardware, the operating system, the version number and precisely what they did before they noticed the problem. You may be surprised that this is often lacking in a request for help. You may also be surprised than many newbies have no clue how to find this information. Be prepared to tell them where and how to find what you need to know.

4. Give them assurance and be encouraging

Nothing is worse than being in the dark and things seeming hopeless. We need to assure them that things can work properly and that there is nothing to worry about. This is sometimes hard because panic may already be setting in by the time they come to you.

Many times I have encountered the situation where the person has said, “If this does not work, I am going to go back to Windows (or whatever they are used to)”. The correct response is not to knock their decision, but to assure them while that may be a valid option, it is not the only choice available to them. If that decision is final, then we need to encourage them to come back and give Linux another try when they feel that they can devote more time to it or when circumstances are different.

Keep the discussion going forward by being positive and keeping it light no matter what the circumstances are.

5. Be prepared to invest some time

I have seen the situation where the response to a question has been, “You should have done a Google search, don’t expect me to do your work for you.” Doing a search is the easy part. Interpreting the results is hard. If you have no skills or knowledge base, most of it is going to go over the head of the one doing the search. We can assist by searching for them and pointing them in the right direction.

On the same subject, invest some time in making your answer a quality answer. Communication skills are important. Don’t be afraid of proof reading what you have written and trying to place yourself in the reader’s situation. Your response makes sense to you, but would it make sense to them.

Helping others may be a learning opportunity for you. If you are willing to work on their behalf they will be grateful. If their gratitude is not enough then look at this as an investment in you. You may learn one or two things if you are open to it.

If you are jumping in a thread midway, look back to make sure that you aren’t repeating what someone has already advised. This will take a bit of time, but it will make your response more effective.

6. Avoid blame

Nothing is worse than having done something dumb and then to be reminded of it constantly. Don’t tell them that they should have done this or that instead. If you do make sure it is worded constructively. Tell them that for future reference it is better to do this first. Remember that they want to know what to do next and not to know how much they have messed up.

7. Start where they are

Many of us feel comfortable with the command line, but most newbies don’t. Think of them. If it seems that a GUI solution is in order, then let this take precedence over our own preference for the command line. If you can’t help in this respect, bow to someone who is in a better place to help.

If you think that your solution is the best or the only one, then assess the risks and give precise instructions. Assume nothing. You may have to tell them how to open a terminal window for example. If you have a choice, take the most advantageous solution for the user. If you use nano, then perhaps you could recommend gedit, instead, for editing configuration files, as this will likely make more sense to them.

Give steps. I have seen the situation where someone wants to install a programme and they are told to type ‘apt-get install firefox’. That may seem obvious to you, but for someone who has never used a terminal they have no clue what apt-get is or where to type what you wrote. A better solution may be to tell them to go to the menu and open Synaptic, telling them precisely where to find it. That may not be what you would do, but it is what they need right now. There is time enough when they are ready to teach them how the command line is powerful. You don’t need to make that point right now. It is going to fall on deaf ears.

8. Remember Murphy’s Law

Know the risks. What are the chances that your advice in the hands of an amateur are going to make things worse? Think about all of the possible things that can go wrong and try to mitigate things by doing a risk assessment.

You may have a high risk tolerance, the user may not. Ask if you are in doubt. But don’t push them beyond their comfort level or into a worse situation, if you aren’t prepared to be their for the long haul. They will need to be assured that you won’t make a rash suggestion then take off leaving them in the lurch.

9. Encourage good practice

When possible encourage the one asking for help to make wise and safe decisions. An obvious example of this is to back up data before undertaking anything that could make their system unbootable or unstable.

Also, in advising them on how to set up their system at the beginning, it may be easier to encourage the default selections, but if the person is willing to take the time and it may be better to show them how to set it up in such a way as to make things easier later. For example, it is easier to partition your drive to use one partition, but if the person is willing, it may be better to show them how to set it up so that we have separate home and root partitions. This is a trade off, immediate ease versus future ease.

If you have upgraded to the latest version of your distribution, don’t encourage others to do the same unless it is in their best interest. If the person has worked hard to get their computer to its current level and they are happy, then don’t advise them to engage in anything that would jeopardize their happiness and success.

Step them though the process and tell them the advantages and disadvantages. There are disadvantages to most things if we think about it.  It may be better to do a fresh installation, especially if they may need to use the installation CD at a later date, than to do an upgrade. What is the best practice in their situation?

10. Give reasons

We are working with adults. They are learning a new way of doing things. Telling them how is only part of learning. Telling them why is a higher learning skill. By sharing the why we are passing on our knowledge in such a way that they will understand the thinking behind what they are doing. This allows them to transfer what they are learning and to share it with others.

11. Be careful of bias

We all have them. Make sure that your bias is up front. I don’t like RPM, but I know that many people use it successfully. It just isn’t for me.  So when I mention this prejudice, I try to give my reasons for not using it. Knowing my own bias, I am careful to try to balance this out with how RPM can work successfully for someone other than me.

We all prefer what we use, but that may not be what will work for someone else, particularly someone without our particular skill set and experience level. Recommend things based on what the chances are that the user will meet with success and then encourage them to move on to your favourite distro when they are ready.

Don’t be afraid to suggest something outside of your comfort level if the object is for them to have success. I will recommend PCLinuxOS, even though I don’t particularly like RPM, for newbies because it may be something that they could use successfully. Remember that you are already having success. They need to work toward your level and something easier may be just the thing they need. If you use Ubuntu, then you could recommend LinuxMint. They can move up to Ubuntu later. If you use Debian, don’t be afraid to recommend SimplyMEPIS, just because it makes it easier for them, even though you may disagree with their interpretation of the GPL licence. It isn’t about you or your distro, it is about the user asking for help.

12. What we say matters

Everything that we write on the internet is for public consumption. It has an impact on the user and on others who may be lurking. We are ambassadors for our community when we speak out. Don’t say something unless you mean it. Be sincere and think of the consequences of your actions beforehand.

I am not a prude. I don’t swear, by personal choice. I know that swearing can be effective, but it has to be measured and appropriate. It you are swearing just for the sake of it, then it has already lost its impact and it is pointless. So be aware of your surroundings, potential audience and the circumstances. Our words reflect who we are. If that is how you want to be remembered, then so be it. However, be aware that others may not share your sense of humour and sense of appropriateness.

Cutting words can also have a hurtful impact. Make sure that if you say something it is exactly what you mean. If you are critical of a distribution or a community, remember that communities are made of people and that things can become personal quickly.

Whenever possible, think big. We represent more than ourselves.  We reflect our own distribution community and the wider Linux community. Remember that Linux spreads by word of mouth. We are goodwill ambassadors for a community that has no advertising budget, no front spokesperson, and little in the way of retail presence. We may be as close to representing Linux as that person is going to get.

The medium leads to misunderstandings. There is no face to face contact. We don’t here the inflection or sarcasm in your voice. Things can and will be taken the wrong way, so use all of the tools at your disposal such as emoticons and the like. Be aware or the use of jargon and acronyms. Be prepared to explain. Don’t be afraid to say that you are sorry for misunderstandings. You will be a bigger person in the eyes of others for it.

13. Don’t feed the trolls and don’t water the stones.

Some people like to cause confusion, get attention and waste your time. Try to sort them out. I have seen this many times. They ask the same question on multiple forums and ask them even knowing the answers before hand. It makes them feel important or it may address a personal hidden agenda.

Don’t be afraid to call them as you see them. If you see a troll, call them out in away that reveals that you are on to them, but not in a way that is offensive, as that may be their goal. If they are a troll then they will go away. If they are not, taking the extra time to word your response inoffensively will be rewarded, by not turning off a legitimate person in need.

Some people are fixed and set in their ways. Don’t expect everyone to become enlightened as you are. Your efforts to change them is likely wasted, so know when not to help certain people or to not expect big results.

14. Be aware of yourself

What is your goal in trying to help others? Are you there to push your own hidden agenda or are you there to genuinely help? If you want to express opinion maybe it would be better to express yourself in another medium instead of help forums. Start a blog. If you want to do both, then be aware of when you are opining and helping. Try to impose limits on yourself so that others aren’t forced to limit you. Moderators work hard to keep discussion positive and healthy. You can play a part in making their job hard or easy.

If the soapbox is your thing, then be prepared to take it elsewhere. Someone may be asking for help on how to play an mp3 file. If you see yourself as the defender of the GPL then this may not be the time or place to lecture them on why mp3 is not a good format and that they should be using Ogg Vorbis. Fight that battle another day. They did not ask for a discussion, just help.

Know your own strengths and weaknesses. Speak about what you know about with confidence, but don’t BS. If you don’t know for sure don’t pretend that you do.

15. Silence is golden

Sometimes it is best to say nothing at all.

I have lots more, but I will allow others to fill in any gaps. Please feel free to add comments and make suggestions. I would particularly like to hear from newcomers to Linux about what they have expereinced, good or bad.