Bug#214916: Debconf question for configuring modules is hard to answer

[Enrico Zini <enrico@debian.org>]

Package: apache
Version: 1.3.28-1
Severity: minor

Hello,

this is roughly the debconf question about what apache modules should
be loaded:

 *** Configuring Apache

   * Please select the modules that apache will load

     [ ] mod_vhost_alias
     [ ] mod_env
     [*] mod_log_config
     [ ] mod_log_agent
     [ ] mod_log_referer
     [*] mod_mime_magic
     [*] mod_mime
         [...tens of others...]

Here is a list of problems I've found:

 - Module names have no description

 - There are too many modules to choose to remember what they are, and
   too many to look up documentation

 - It does not tell where the defaults have been taken from: is it from
   my existing apache configuration or are they the defaults that come
   in the Debian package?  In the first case, I'd want to just hit "OK",
   while in the second I have to get mad at checking them all.
   
   Not knowing it, I'll probably hit "OK" and then get mad at checking
   them all when something breaks :)

My suggested correction would be to include a description for every
module, to initialize the selections using what is in the existing
configuration files and to explicitly say so, so that the admin knows
that he can safely just press "OK" if (s)he already has a working
configuration.

Ciao,

Enrico

-- System Information:
Debian Release: testing/unstable
Architecture: i386
Kernel: Linux mitac 2.4.20 #2 mar dic 24 18:41:27 CET 2002 i686
Locale: LANG=it_IT@euro, LC_CTYPE=it_IT@euro

Versions of packages apache depends on:
ii  apache-common                 1.3.28-1   Support files for all Apache webse
ii  debconf                       1.3.14     Debian configuration management sy
ii  dpkg                          1.10.15    Package maintenance system for Deb
ii  libc6                         2.3.2-8    GNU C Library: Shared libraries an
ii  libdb4.1                      4.1.25-9   Berkeley v4.1 Database Libraries [
ii  libexpat1                     1.95.6-6   XML parsing C library - runtime li
ii  libmagic1                     4.04-1     File type determination library us
ii  logrotate                     3.6.5-2    Log rotation utility
ii  mime-support                  3.23-1     MIME files 'mime.types' & 'mailcap
ii  perl [perl5]                  5.8.1-2    Larry Wall's Practical Extraction 

-- debconf information:
  apache/server-port: 80
  apache/init: true
  apache/document-root: /var/www
* apache/enable-suexec: false
  apache/server-admin: webmaster@mitac
  apache/server-name: 192.168.1.42