Not only I have to thank Alan for this or that hint and the great software. Nowadays I find his answers amusing. They sound like a mantra: Read the documentation, post the debug output, don't change too much in the default configuration .... What is wrong with that answer? And knowing that one might get this kind of answer: Maybe one thinks twice and reads a bit more through the docs before posting a question. In my opinion there are worse things than thinking twice. I know people that behave exactly this way just for that reason. And they solved most of their problems this way. FreeRADIUS is a project with a comprehensive documentation. Many -if not most - of the questions on the list could be answered by reading the wiki and the rest of the documentation. Knowing this I personally would find it hard to impossible to answer the same questions over and over again. Thanks Alan. Norbert Wegener ________________________________________ Von: freeradius-users-bounces+norbert.wegener=siemens.com@lists.freeradius.org [freeradius-users-bounces+norbert.wegener=siemens.com@lists.freeradius.org] im Auftrag von Alan DeKok [aland@deployingradius.com] Gesendet: Donnerstag, 25. Juni 2009 08:20 An: daverummel@boothcreek.com; FreeRadius users mailing list Betreff: Re: freeradius 2.1.6 ldap + mschapv2 to authenticate daverummel@boothcreek.com wrote:

So funny you say that, I was just talking about that with a co worker. I almost find myself searching for his emails and thinking that poor person who is looking for help.

Asking people to read the debug log, as suggested in the FAQ, README, INSTALL, "man" page, every single "howto", and daily on this list? For shame. It's really quite simple. It's a choice. People DON'T read the documentation. They DON'T follow instructions. They DON'T read the debug log. But they get incensed when they get told to read it, and they get incensed when told to follow instructions. Happily, there is a solution. Along with Christopher, you're now the new "cut & paste" master. Please spend a few short hours every day answering questions on this list by cutting & pasting answers from the existing documentation. Also, you will need to explain to people that they should run the server in debugging mode. Feel free to *continue* explaining why this is necessary after they have gotten angry at you for not immediately solving their problem. Complaining about *my* behavior is not an option until you've contributed something to the project. Alan DeKok. - List info/subscribe/unsubscribe? See http://www.freeradius.org/list/users.html

Alan often replies immediately with useful information, often for questions which are constantly repeated. I'm personally impressed with his tireless dedication, not only in being one of the primary "help desk" roles but also in developing the software, both of which you're getting for *free*. I think Alan (and some others) deserve a note of thanks from this community. Folks, get real, this is open source. That means it's a community of volunteers. In open source if you think something is deficient your job is to step up to the plate and contribute for the betterment of everyone. But if instead you feel you need to complain and not contribute then please walk away. John