Todd Zullinger writes:
I agree that if someone comes here with questions that are obviously very dependent on some customization that their vendor has made that they should be directed to check with the vendor. (Same goes for users who need more basic help learning to use their OS of choice.) But many, if not most, questions from users who are using a Red Hat or even Apple package don't fall into that category, IMO.
I agree. But nobody's suggesting a "don't post here if you're using Red Hat" policy. The policy is that for installation problems, problems soon after installation, and missing functionality, ask the vendor *first*, unless you're sufficiently expert that you already know what a standard installation from source looks like and can explain the differences.
Note that without that expertise, you can't figure out what's "obviously very dependent." I think that if the user doesn't know, the default should be to go to the vendor, who knows more about installation issues and who has an interest in bullet-proofing their package.