On Tue, 20 May 1997, Enrique Zanardi wrote: > On Tue, 20 May 1997, Nicolás Lichtmaier wrote: > > > I think that this is the kind of thinking that is killing Debian. > > > > 1) Newbie setting doesn't mean annoying settings. > > 2) `real men' like you can change those settings. > > 3) Configuration packages is an awful idea that goes against the idea of > > package. A better solution would be a system setting that packages would > > check an install the apropiate default. > > 4) We aren't building a distribution only for us. > > > > Let's stop being so narrow minded... We need a little of marketing... We > > need to be known as an easy distribution for newbies... > > The problem with that approach is that many of those "newbie" settings > are just a matter of taste. We don't want to set a thousand of those > parameters in hundreths of different config files that will have to be > edited to reset them.
Of course it's a matter of taste. But leaving everything unconfigured it's also a matter of (bad) taste. And the settings should be simple... I wouldn't recommend setting a 2-line prompt with date and ANSI codes as a default, even if I used that... > It would be easier if all those parameters could be grouped in a > single config package. We may have a handful of those to choose > (hint: "themes"). It may even be useful for localization! > I don't see the reason why you don't like the idea of Config packages. > Can you elaborate a little more on that, please? Perhaps we need to define better what are we talking about. I see a `config package' as a package that includes/modifies other packages conffiles. Using packages for this is ignoring the concept of a package. What if you remove one of these packages? What if some programs whose files are modified are not installed? What if one of these programs is installed _after_ the config-package? Should the config-package depend on every progam it configures? config-packages will depend on changes in several packages... Maybe this requires something orthogonal to the package system. `Themes' are possible in Windows because they have a central database for settings. My opinion is: One of the main adtvantages of having a distribution is that you get configured packages, so let's to provide a great/useful/nice/easy configuration. I'd like to have LESSOPEN configured for me when I install a distribution. -- Nicolás Lichtmaier.- -- TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS MAILING LIST: e-mail the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Trouble? e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] .
