From d46e5bfb63427c0de9c6d2b5034729b0e6d927c5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Spencer Bliven <spencer.bliven@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2022 12:19:53 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] Add FAQ page

---
 404.md                             |  2 +-
 _data/sidebars/merlin6_sidebar.yml |  2 ++
 pages/merlin6/99-support/faq.md    | 36 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
 create mode 100644 pages/merlin6/99-support/faq.md

diff --git a/404.md b/404.md
index a7b58c0..fc5a54b 100644
--- a/404.md
+++ b/404.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 title: "Page Not Found"
 search: exclude
----  
+---
 
 Sorry, but the page you were trying to view does not exist. Try searching for it or looking at the URL to see if it looks correct.
diff --git a/_data/sidebars/merlin6_sidebar.yml b/_data/sidebars/merlin6_sidebar.yml
index 2ea6e95..8d64445 100644
--- a/_data/sidebars/merlin6_sidebar.yml
+++ b/_data/sidebars/merlin6_sidebar.yml
@@ -113,6 +113,8 @@ entries:
       url: /merlin6/python.html
   - title: Support
     folderitems:
+    - title: FAQ
+      url: /merlin6/faq.html
     - title: Known Problems
       url: /merlin6/known-problems.html
     - title: Troubleshooting
diff --git a/pages/merlin6/99-support/faq.md b/pages/merlin6/99-support/faq.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ddc5069
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pages/merlin6/99-support/faq.md
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+---
+title: FAQ
+#tags:
+keywords: faq, frequently asked questions, support
+last_updated: 27 October 2022
+#summary: ""
+sidebar: merlin6_sidebar
+permalink: /merlin6/faq.html
+---
+
+{%include toc.html %}
+
+## How do I register for merlin?
+
+See [Requesting Accounts](/merlin6/request-account.html).
+
+## Can I install software myself?
+
+Most software can be installed in user directories without any special permissions. We recommend using `/data/user/$USER/bin` for software since home directories are fairly small. For software that will be used by multiple groups/users you can also [request the admins](/merlin6/contact.html) install it as a [module](/merlin6/using-modules.html).
+
+How to install depends a bit on the software itself. There are three common installation procedures:
+
+1. *binary distributions*. These are easy; just put them in a directory (eg `/data/user/$USER/bin`) and add that to your PATH.
+2. *source compilation* using make/cmake/autoconfig/etc. Usually the compilation scripts accept a `--prefix=/data/user/$USER` directory for where to install it. Then they place files under `<prefix>/bin`, `<prefix>/lib`, etc. The exact syntax should be documented in the installation instructions.
+3. *conda environment*. This is now becoming standard for python-based software, including lots of the AI tools. First follow the [initial setup instructions](/merlin6/python.html#anaconda) to configure conda to use /data/user instead of your home directory. Then you can create environments like:
+
+```
+module load anaconda/2019.07
+# if they provide environment.yml
+conda env create -f environment.yml
+
+# or to create manually
+conda create --name myenv python==3.9 ...
+
+conda activate myenv
+```