Re: BUG #13958: Missing docs on error

On Sat, Feb 13, 2016 at 12:47 PM, <public88878878887(at)hotmail(dot)com> wrote:

> The following bug has been logged on the website:
>
> Bug reference: 13958
> Logged by: Brian G
> Email address: public88878878887(at)hotmail(dot)com
> PostgreSQL version: 9.4.6
> Operating system: Ubuntu 14
> Description:
>
> The dreaded "FATAL: Peer authentication failed ..." error needs
> information
> on how to use your product. Every time I try to use PSQL I have to fight
> this battle again. There are a hundred thousand pages about it on the web,
> but 99% of most fixes don't work. Is there a definitive guide you could
> post so folks could get their development environment running? Why is this
> such a big problem? I've wasted a bunch of hours --again-- and this still
> doesn't work. To me, pq is a product that should "not be used solely
> because of this". I won't allow it at our organization except under
> exceptional circumstances, because of this error. I would love to see a
> Postgres-branded guide to fixing this (not explaining how OS authorisation
> works in full, just fixing the error) that makes your product more usable.
>

​Its a problem because:
1) PostgreSQL attempts to be platform agnostic
2) PostgreSQL attempts to setup a reasonably secure configuration by
default.

Do you have specific suggestions or ideas as to what would be useful for
you as a user?

And, there are lots of people on these lists who are willing to help
explain things that people reading the extensive documentation​

​just cannot get to click. Its nice you took the time to rant but a
well-phrased question a few hours ago probably would likely have prevented
the situation in the first place - though I am not saying that
documentation and error hint message improve is not needed.

But error messages are not the place for paragraphs and chapters worth of
documentation; that is why there is documentation - which exists. Which
brings us back to what improvements does an inexperienced user think will
help improve matters.

David J.