[KLUG Members] No "pure" Windows questions, please!!! -- WAS: Website locks up Win95

[Adam Williams]

>>A friend of mine runs Windows 95 and must reboot his computer
>>when he visits a certain web site (something like "fantasy
>>football").  When his browser history is cleared it won't lock
>>up and force a reboot.  Any ideas on how to fix this without re-installing Win95?
>>Upgrade him to Linux!  (this is a Linux mailing list ya know! :)
>Patrick, I know it is hard to find good, free, community-based
>Windows support.  

If not impossible.  I sympathize with Pat and have often thought "I'll
bet someone in KLUG has seen this before" when dealing with baffling
Windows issues.  But I think the list should remain clean of "'pure'"
Windows questions for both pragmatic and political reasons.

Pragmatic - "Website locks up..."  is a very common type of Windows
question.  This is really too vague to answer,  but it isn't entirely
the user's fault.  Without tools like netstat, ps, strace, fuser, or ldd
Window's troubleshooting questions usually result in a litany of
ancedotal responses "Try XYZ it worked for me", "Try ABC it worked for
me", "Try MNO it worked for me".  The stock Windows box just doesn't
come with the kind of tools one needs to solve problems,  regardless of
a users ability/inability to use/understand such tools.  The
signal-to-noise ratio on most Windows oriented newsgroups often leaves
one wondering if it would be better to point a dish into deep space, 
randomly pick a frequency, and slap on a pair of headphones.

Politically - I think hosting Windows oriented lists or even threads
damages the credibility of KLUG's message.  As well as possibly
attracting hordes of people not in the least bit interested in our 
message.  Yes,  finding good Windows support is just shy of impossible. 
But isn't that also one of the prime advantages of open source.