Debian Jr. Quick Guide
Chapter 1 About this document

1.1 Terminology

In writing this document it took some effort to come up with a term that adequately describes those people who help the children use their Debian Jr. systems, who may be a more experienced (usually older) sibling or friend, a parent, a relative, or a teacher. This person may be highly proficient with Debian, or a novice, discovering as much about their system as the children are, and merely staying one step ahead to help bring them forward. After considering a number of alternatives, we settled on "guide". Thus, throughout this document we use this term (in lowercase, as distinct from "the Quick Guide") to refer to this role. Where we need to refer specifically to the children's systems administrator, we use "sys admin" instead, although ideally the sys admin is a guide too.

1.2 Audience

The intended audience for this document, then, is those who would like to guide children using Debian Jr., particularly those who are new to it and are planning to install it. You are encouraged to read this document with the sys admin (if that is not also your role), as many parts of it are of particular interest to the sys admin.

1.3 Suggested reading

If you are installing Debian for the first time, this document should be read as a companion to Debian's Installation Manual. This covers basic Debian installation concepts, such as running tasksel, which are key to a successful Debian Jr. install.

We try to give as detailed instructions and examples as we can without straying from being a "Quick Guide", assuming very little about the user's familiarity with performing a Debian installation. So we hope that this document, paired with the Installation Manual, can be used together to carry off a successful install. But for those who seek more detailed help, a number of other supporting documents are referenced throughout the rest of this text.

Finally, the Social Contract is key to understanding why we have embarked on this project at all. We hope that you will catch the spirit of this document, become excited by it, and by using Debian Jr. will not only benefit from what it has to offer as a system, but will also realize the benefits of entering into the global free software community which we serve.