*ALL* of the official docs are GuideXML; Gentoo *expects* users to have a web browser by default. Otherwise a vast majority of users would never get Gentoo installed in the first place. The "lightweight" requirement appears to just be your way of subverting the current documentation standards (because of your XML hatred).
How about getting some facts straight before running your mouth? Gentoo most certainly does not expect users to have a web browser to install. The last time I actually installed on x86 (which was some time ago admittedly), there was a .txt version of the install guide on the livecd.
Even then, the web browser you are speaking of runs directly off the livecd. So, what happens when there is critical news to be read during the install phase inside the chroot, but no web browser is yet installed? Are you suggesting we bloat stage1 and stage2 with some sort of XML parser so that the user can read news without having to kill the emerge and read the news outside the chroot? I think you would have a seriously hard time convincing the release folks this is a good idea.
Furthermore, it is not possible to include any sort of XML parser with installers for certain arches which use very minimal netboots for the default installation method. So really, your complaints about the "lightweight" requirement appears to just be a way of subverting attention away from the real reasons it is a good idea, and towards maintaining a flamewar with ciaran that you will surely lose.
-Steve -- gentoo-dev@gentoo.org mailing list
