Re: ppp and new users
There's some confusion here.
john@dhh.gt.org wrote on 27.03.98 in <[🔎] 87hg4jzhbz.fsfjgh@dhh.gt.org>:
> Gregory S. Stark writes:
> > It's worse than distateful, if there are multiple packages that try to do
> > this it can be serious problems. This is why there's a policy prohibition
> > on packages editting configuration files belonging to another package.
>
> Packages, not programs. Otherwise vi would be in violation. Editing the
> configuration files of another package (ppp) is pppconfig's purpose. Think
> of it as a special-purpose editor.
What should strictly not be done is scripts editing conffiles (NOT config
files) behind the user's back, and it's quite irrelevant which package
those scripts and conffiles belong to.
That's because dpkg then prompts the user about changes to a conffile
she's never heard the name of, and so she doesn't know what to do.
This is very, very bad.
Whenever a config file is edited by a script (which is quite legitimate),
that config file should not be a conffile.
Of course, that means that it should not be a file in any package, to keep
it from being overwritten; it should _only_ be manipulated by script and
sysadmin.
Now, given we have a script manipulating a config file (NOT conffile),
then it is reasonable to reserve that manipulation to only one package, or
else to a set of closely cooperating packages, so as to make sure those
scripts don't step on each other's toes.
If this isn't already policy, it should be.
MfG Kai
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