Re: rm -r * and the default prompt
On Mon, 19 May 1997, Brian Mays wrote:
> This is why changing the default prompt for everyone is not a good
> idea. You guys can't even agree on what you want the new prompt to
> be. And if you want my personal preference, any prompt longer than
> '$ ' is too long. If I want to know what directory I'm in, I just
> pwd.
>
> Instead of arguing back and forth about this new prompt, please do
> something constructive. Build a "Debian 4 dummies" package, which
> includes your favorite prompt along with all of the other nice
> defaults that you wish to include. Add a sentence in the package's
> description that says "If you are new to Debian or Linux, this package
> comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED."
>
> Of course, there will be some technical details with the
> implementation of this package that will need to be ironed out, such
> as how to get PS='<your favorite prompt>' into /etc/profile, but I'm
> sure that these will be minor. If you want to get fancy, you can also
> add to this package some useful scripts for configuring a Debian
> system that no Unix "real man" would need or want.
>
> I believe that the newbie-friendly defaults should be collected in one
> place and not scattered across many Debian packages. If they are in
> one package (or a small number of packages), it will be easier for us
> to define what the Debian newbie-friendly environment is and to plan
> what we want it to become. I especially believe that these defaults
> should be optional.
>
> Remember, the user should configure her system, not deconfigure it.
> If she must spend time and effort to rid her system of somebody else's
> nifty configuration, then IMO we're doing it wrong.
>
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...
--
Nicolás Lichtmaier.-
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