3 ms·

The state of Linux docs as seen through Google is appalling. Searing for things like "how to set up rsnapshot backups" are full of garbage articles that are 800

The state of Linux docs as seen through Google is appalling. Searing for things like "how to set up rsnapshot backups" are full of garbage articles that are 800 words like whose only actual content is "apt install rsnapshot". Maybe this is a Google problem. It doesn't help the Ubuntu docs have fallen into total disrepair. Most searches for information there find 6 year old stuff that's no longer relevant. Major sections of manuals have apparently been abandoned. The bright spot is Arch Linux; that wiki is amazing. I now am adding Arch to most of my search queries even though I have no intention of ever using Arch.

xena 4y ago
I can't agree more. I'd pay for a printed version of the Arch wiki. I've used the Arch wiki to fix Windows systems before.
- teddyh 4y ago
  If it’s simply offline you want, you can install https://www.kiwix.org/ https://www.kiwix.org/ and use it to download, search, and read, an archive of the entire Arch Wiki.
  - 5e92cb50239222b 4y ago
    And Arch itself also comes with two packages of wiki dumps for offline reading: HTML: https://archlinux.org/packages/community/any/arch-wiki-docs/ https://archlinux.org/packages/community/any/arch-wiki-docs/ raw (but colored) text readable on framebuffer: https://archlinux.org/packages/community/any/arch-wiki-lite/ https://archlinux.org/packages/community/any/arch-wiki-lite/
  - microtonal 4y ago
    Or download with this utility, which was made specifically to download the Arch wiki: https://github.com/lahwaacz/arch-wiki-docs https://github.com/lahwaacz/arch-wiki-docs
  - xena 4y ago
    I want a book on my shelf that I can thumb through. I'd be willing to pay what it would cost to get that.
vvillena 4y ago
Archlinux relies on a very small set of distro-specific tools, everything else is standard tooling and code pulled from upstream without any extra patches. It makes sense their docs can apply to the rest of the Linux world. The Archlinux wiki is amazing.
CommanderData 4y ago
Doesn't help every flavour of Linux might have a different way of doing things. Heck, the mess that is systemd and changing your hostfiles or nameserver on newer versions on Ubuntu is baffling with every version having its own quirk. I spent 30-45 mins on something that took 10 seconds in another flavour of Linux the same day. Windows commands are still largely the same the were 10-20 years ago.

xena 4y ago

I can't agree more. I'd pay for a printed version of the Arch wiki. I've used the Arch wiki to fix Windows systems before.

teddyh 4y ago
If it’s simply offline you want, you can install https://www.kiwix.org/ https://www.kiwix.org/ and use it to download, search, and read, an archive of the entire Arch Wiki.
- 5e92cb50239222b 4y ago
  And Arch itself also comes with two packages of wiki dumps for offline reading: HTML: https://archlinux.org/packages/community/any/arch-wiki-docs/ https://archlinux.org/packages/community/any/arch-wiki-docs/ raw (but colored) text readable on framebuffer: https://archlinux.org/packages/community/any/arch-wiki-lite/ https://archlinux.org/packages/community/any/arch-wiki-lite/
- microtonal 4y ago
  Or download with this utility, which was made specifically to download the Arch wiki: https://github.com/lahwaacz/arch-wiki-docs https://github.com/lahwaacz/arch-wiki-docs
- xena 4y ago
  I want a book on my shelf that I can thumb through. I'd be willing to pay what it would cost to get that.

vvillena 4y ago

Archlinux relies on a very small set of distro-specific tools, everything else is standard tooling and code pulled from upstream without any extra patches. It makes sense their docs can apply to the rest of the Linux world. The Archlinux wiki is amazing.

CommanderData 4y ago

Doesn't help every flavour of Linux might have a different way of doing things. Heck, the mess that is systemd and changing your hostfiles or nameserver on newer versions on Ubuntu is baffling with every version having its own quirk. I spent 30-45 mins on something that took 10 seconds in another flavour of Linux the same day. Windows commands are still largely the same the were 10-20 years ago.