::: CEE UCL HelpDesk: I have an error message. Who should I contact to resolve the problem? :::

Brevis esse laboro, Obscurus fio -- I strive to be brief, and I become obscure.

I have an error message.
Who should I contact to resolve this problem?

Primary Unix user support is provided by ODU OCCS (Office of Computing and Communications Services) USG (Unix Supporting Group). To report your error/problem, send an e-mail to <help@lions.odu.edu> with detailed error/problem description.

Before sending error report to USG, please check followings first. Chances are you can get an answer to your problem a lot faster without e-amiling a question.

Read the manual first
Some day you may encounter the phrase "RTFM", which stands for "Read the Fine Manual" - here 'Manual' means on-line man pages. (actually, 'F' doesn't really stand for "Fine" though). If you ask someone a question and they tell you to RTFM, it's an indication that you haven't done your homework. For instance, if you are trying to make a script run under csh instead of sh, check the man page for "csh". It might tell you what you need to know. I would say about 95% of your questions and problems can be resolved by carefully reading related man pages.
Find a knowledgeable user (or "guru")
CEE UCL has at least a few Unix experts who will be happy to help you figure out how to deal with common questions and problems. Check with them first.
Find a good introductory/reference book on Unix
(of course, this is a long-term solution) There are plenty of such books available, and you will save yourself a lot of trouble by having one handy and consulting it frequently.

Now, after trying all above three, and yet there's no end of the tunnel in sight, you need to send an e-mail to <help@lions.odu.edu> with detailed error/problem description. Please be sure to include all of followings in your e-mail:

First, put a descriptive Subject: line. Prompt response requires detailed description of the problem, so it should be a good statement of your problem. For example,

Not a good Subject: line	A good Subject: line
Help!!!!!!	How do I sort a file by line length?
tcsh question	tcsh dumps core when I use '$<'
#$@*&!	[Urgent: Deadline] Program xxx execution error

Next, put folllowing information in the body of e-mail:

Your login name (=user ID) in the body of the e-mail
Your full name and department (=CEE)
Your login shell - you can find about your login shell information from
```
$ echo $SHELL
	
```
Name of workstation that you're having an error/problem - you can find the workstation information such as OS version, etc. by using "uname -a". For example, if I type "uname -a" at workstation 'sparky,'
```
$ uname -a
SunOS sparky 5.7 Generic_106541-16 sun4m sparc
	
```
Copy this whole result obtained from "uname -a" to the body of the e-mail
IP address of workstation that you're having an error/problem - you can find the workstation IP information using "nslookup <workstation_name>" where <workstation_name> is the second word from "uname -a" result, that is, 'sparky' in above example.
```
$ nslookup sparky
Server:  dns-resolver.server1.odu.edu
Address:  128.82.224.41

Name:    sparky.cee.odu.edu
Address:  128.82.226.59
```
Copy last line, i.e., "128.82.226.59" to the body of the e-mail
Describe the command/program that you encountered the error/problem. Also, find the command/program path information. For example, if I had received an error while running "egrep" command, I can find which "egrep" command that I was exactly running.
tcsh or csh shell
```
$ which egrep
/dfs/usr/@sys/bin/egrep
```
bash or sh shell
```
$ type egrep
egrep is /dfs/usr/@sys/bin/egrep
```
Copy whole result from "which/type <command>" to the body of the e-mail

If possible, the *exact* text of any error message you may have encountered.

Description that doesn't help	Description actually describing the problem
I can't print this file	When I type 'lpr Filename' to print 'Filename,' I get "lpr: Filename: File too ugly to print." What does this mean?? I could not find this error message in the man page. This error occurs when using Ghostscript 5.50 (1998-9-16) on HP4 printer from a workstation 'dogwood' in CEE Unix Lab

Of course, beware that even after sending all pertinent information, response from OCCS USG might be not as quick as you wish. Please be patient, since USG is constantly swamped.