Not to be confused with DUN (Dial Up Networking), NUN (New Users Network) is hoping to uncomplicate any problems working with Ubuntu.

Ubuntu Linux might be an easy distribution to use, but some new users quickly run into things that bewilder them. Commands like sudo, apt-get, and terminal make newbies scurry around for help from forum boards, mailing lists, and IRC. To help such newcomers, Ubuntu has put together a community team that ensures new users are handled with care. The New Users Network, or NUN, is a group of experienced Ubuntu enthusiasts who help new Ubuntu users come to grips with the operating system.

Volunteer NUN mentors spend time on Ubuntu forums, mailing lists, and IRC channels looking for new user queries. The mentors have agreed to follow the NUN guidelines, which caution against the use of popular responses to newbie questions, such as RTFM, JFGI, and UTFS. Instead, they try to answer the queries in an easy-to-follow fashion, and point to online resources wherever possible, such as a wiki that explains things in details.

“At first the NUN was nothing more than an IRC channel (#ubuntu-nun on the freenode network) that we could bring a user from #kubuntu or #ubuntu into, for one-on-one work that couldn’t be done in the busier support channels. Since then, it has become a popular haven for geeks and new users alike,” says Rich Johnson, a NUN mentor…. Source: Linux.com