Utilize Search Engines, Documentation and AI

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To save your own time and be easy on the developer team please use search engines, other modern tools like AI (Artificial Intelligence) and utilize the extensive Whonix documentation. Do the leg work first, search for answers to your questions yourself before asking for help - especially for basic questions, as many common issues and solutions are already documented.

Introduction[edit]

The Whonix team is promoting the "Self Support First Policy". It is a policy, usually employed by small open source teams with limited resources. It means utilizing all of your options from public sources first, then search engines, already existing content and answers, then sources inside the forumarchive.org and only then consider reaching out in the forum and through direct support.

Details on Self Support First Policy

Visit Self Support First Policy for a full explanation of this policy. Selected Details:

  1. Self support is often easier and more effective than suspected. It saves the user time and helps the developer team concentrate on improving the product
  2. Please Use Search Engines And See Documentation First and read the FAQ. Most questions have already been answered.
  3. Use the Whonix internal search engine and external search engines like DuckDuckGo and Startpage which the additional keyword "Whonix".
  4. Search the Whonix User Forumsarchive.org and issue tracker for the problem.
  5. If possible, search for a solution without the Whonix-specific part of the question, as it may have been answered in mainstream Linux fora.
  6. Check if the problem can be replicated in vanilla operating system environments like Debianarchive.org bookworm, Xfce.
  7. See General Advice.
  8. See documentation introduction, user expectations, footnotes and references.

To save time please do not ask very basic questions like:

  • How do I update Whonix?
  • How is Whonix run on Windows?
  • How does VirtualBox work?
  • How do I do X on operating system Y?

First consider whether someone else has likely raised the exact same question or issue. Experience has shown that most topics have already been discussed within the Whonix community and often been documented.

Before asking a question, please first use search engines, modern tools like AI and refer to the Documentation and research existing threads in the Whonix forumsarchive.org.

Specific suggestions[edit]

Search Engines[edit]

We recommend using these specific search engines for good results.

Documentation[edit]

We recommend using our documentation and forums.

Search for your problem keywords, read related threads etc.

Artificial Intelligence[edit]

We like to notify you of the following popular AI services.

! Note:

  1. We do not endorse any of these services specifically. There are other options available.
  2. We recommend treating AI tools as "less formal" search engines and NOT as primary sources!
  3. Always ask AI for primary sources and rely your knowledge and actions on the primary sources, NOT on the AI.
  4. Keep in mind that AI can hallucinate, so again always verify the information using primary sources.

Rationale[edit]

Existing resources should be consulted for several reasons:

  • Whonix is a technological means to security, but staying safe necessitates complete behavioral change; it is a complex problem without an easy solution. The more you know, the safer you can be.
  • Available Documentation can provide answers to some of these questions.
    • Documentation answers are generally of higher quality than information posted in a casual setting (like forums or chat).
  • Some questions/topics are generic in nature and out of scope for Whonix -- in these cases the questioner must acquire a basic prerequisite knowledge of computing elsewhere before attempting further procedures.
  • The Self Support First Policy Rationale and Support Request Policy Rationale apply.

Developers have made significant efforts to configure safe defaults, but operational security (opsec) is not realized by merely using a suitable platform. Staying safe requires a change of mindset and necessary skills are normally developed via trial and effort, experimentation, and general education.

Computing security is complex subject, which means it is improbable that volunteers can assist with every step of the journey and learning curve. Or course advanced questions about Whonix are welcomed, particularly for undocumented use cases. [1]

See Also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ↑ Time permitting and when developers have sufficient interest.
Your support makes
all the difference!

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