Log on another machine and become username you want to collaborate with:
# su - david
enter the pw
Then you ssh into server the client is located on:
# ssh david@domain.com
type yes then type your password
Once you are there, you run:
# screen -S foo
Then you holler at David:
“Hey David, run the following command on your terminal: # screen -x foo
.”
This will cause your and David’s sessions to be joined together in the holy Linux shell. You can type or he can type, but you’ll both see what the other is doing. This saves you from walking to the other floor and lets you both have equal control. The benefit is that David can watch your troubleshooting skills and see exactly how you solve problems.
At last you both see what the problem is: You solve the problem, and David goes back to work. You then go back to whatever lazy activity you were doing before.
The one caveat to this trick is that you both need to be logged in as the same user. Other cool things you can do with the screen
command include having multiple windows and split screens. Read the man pages for more on that.
But I’ll give you one last tip while you’re in your screen
session. To detach from it and leave it open, type: Ctrl-A D
. (I mean, hold down the Ctrl key and strike the A key. Then push the D key.)
You can then reattach by running the screen -x foo
command again.