One of the biggest problems with Open Source software in general is documentation. Oftentimes you’ll download something only to find a scant README and, if you’re lucky, an equally-scant INSTALL file to guide you through setting it up. You do the standard install three-step - ./compile, make, make install - and cross your fingers. When it works, you’re golden. When it doesn’t, best of luck to you.

That’s the main theme of Brian Jones’s recent Sysadmin to Sysadmin column. While he’s perhaps a bit over-critical, his overall theme is correct. Even well-documented systems sometimes fall short; on FreeBSD for example, sometimes you need to know how a Port is being compiled or you have to pass extra options when compiling that you wouldn’t otherwise think of, all because another Port or package needs a certain feature.

A wiki is a great way to mitigate the problem, especially where FAQs and support are concerned, but it’s not always feasible to supply a project with a wiki. As such, it’s up to the developer to help us out.