Self Support First Policy for Kicksecure
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"Self Support First Policy" is usually employed by small open source teams with limited resources. It means utilizing all of your options from public sources first, then search engines, already existing content and answers, then sources inside the forum
and only then consider reaching out in the forum and through direct support.
Overview[edit]
- Self support is often easier and more effective than suspected. It saves the user time and helps the developer team concentrate on improving the product
- Please Use Search Engines And See Documentation First and read the FAQ. Most questions have already been answered.
- Use the Kicksecure internal search engine and external search engines like DuckDuckGo and Startpage which the additional keyword "Kicksecure".
- Search the Kicksecure User Forums and issue tracker for the problem.
- If possible, search for a solution without the Kicksecure-specific part of the question, as it may have been answered in mainstream Linux fora.
- Check if the problem can be replicated in vanilla operating system environments like Debian
bookworm, Xfce. - See General Advice.
- See documentation introduction, user expectations, footnotes and references.
After completing these steps, a specific support request should be made if the user cannot locate a similar reference for their problem. Suitable options may include Debian user forums, unix stackexchange, software-specific community / developer forums (for example, LibreOffice), and so on.
- See also Support Request Policy.
- In case Kicksecure specific issues or feature requests see also Bug Reports and Software Development.
- If no solution is found, the user should create a new post in the Kicksecure User Forums.
- If a solution was found, please consider editing the Kicksecure Documentation as a small contribution and/or providing a complete answer in the Kicksecure User
Self Support First Policy Rationale[edit]
In an ideal world, all free support requests would be answered with minimal to no effort or systems would run flawlessly, thus negating the need for asking questions. Unfortunately, real world systems are flawed and developer time and knowledge is limited. This is further elaborated in chapter Policy Rationale.
Kicksecure will always be free in price as well as in freedom (Why?). In order to create a solid open source software solution, Kicksecure has adopted the approach of treating users as co-developers. [1] This concept is further elaborated below.
The User Co-developer Concept[edit]
Most common questions have already been addressed in the available Documentation. When a solution to a question exists in the documentation, users typically just receive a link to the relevant section.
Kicksecure is a Linux distribution. Both Kicksecure developers and users serve as integrators. Kicksecure builds upon various components and software distributions from other projects, essentially standing on the shoulders of giants.
In essence, Kicksecure is built upon: [2]
- Debian.
- Numerous other software packages.
The Kicksecure contributors cannot possibly know the solution to every encountered problem or answer every question exhaustively. Therefore, users are encouraged to first determine if their issue is general and not specific to Kicksecure.
Applying this principle entails rephrasing the question, searching for solutions in different places, and ideally documenting the found solution in the Documentation. Past experience indicates that for some questions, this approach is the only realistic approach to solve them.
Some users may anticipate that Kicksecure offers a unified experience akin to a Windows system. While Kicksecure developers strive to fulfill these expectations, constraints in funding and manpower make it impossible. [3]
Kicksecure Reliance on Debian[edit]
Tip: Since Ubuntu is a Debian derivative, online help for Ubuntu most often works for Kicksecure.
In oversimplified terms, Kicksecure is just a collection of configuration files and scripts. Kicksecure is not a stripped down version of Debian; anything possible in "vanilla" Debian GNU/Linux can be replicated in Kicksecure. Likewise, most problems and questions can be solved in the same way. For example: "How do I install VLC Media Player on Kicksecure?" -- "The same way as in Debian apt install vlc. Kicksecure does not break anything, limit functionality, or prevent installation of compatible software.
An example of an inappropriate question seeking Kicksecure support would be "How do I save a document in Libre Office as a PDF?". The solution is easily found by use of Internet search engines. Even if a solution was difficult to find, LibreOffice would behave identically on Debian and other operating systems. Logically, the recipient for the question should be the LibreOffice community.
On the other hand, in the unlikely event this hypothetical problem only occurred in Kicksecure, then it would constitute an appropriate support referral, for example: "I know how to save a document in LibreOffice as a PDF. It doesn't work in Kicksecure. How can I make it work in Kicksecure?"
Unfinished: This wiki is a work in progress. Please do not report broken links until this notice is removed, use Search Engines First and contribute improving this wiki.
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ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LP,
2023
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- ↑
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cathedral_and_the_Bazaar#Lessons_for_creating_good_open_source_software
- ↑ For a more detailed explanation, see the About page.
- ↑ This is a challenge common to all Linux desktop distributions.