Re: Who is a Debian user?
On Sunday, 26. August 2001 00:20, Claes Andersson wrote:
> It seems that in many situations when a design issue is discussed on
> Debian lists, the decision is not guided so much on making it easy
> for the user. The user is rather expected to RTFM. But even if you
> are a very intelligent user, RTMF takes time, and when you have to do
> it a lot, it adds up.
... and gives you knewledge, experience, a feel for the system.
This is not! flame (just little time here): A user is to use. If any
sys is too complex, he is to let go. An admin is to admin. If job is
too complex for him, with all docs and man at hand, he is to let go!
This is not any pseudo os, pretending that computing itself as well as
having a system, that is to perform a lot of complex tasks safely, is
easy!
Doing it all the right way, IS a complex task. Noone who knows would
want to know all the details, he can simply find by 'man anything'.
Who doesn't understand un*x is to reinvent it poorly.
Un*x has a tradition, allowing accustomed people too find what they
NEED, more modern filesystem standards carefully documented ...
I sure do respect your view, but personally think, you should take a
little more into consideration than just your convenience regarding
that specific point. Could well be, a quick change here clobbers with
your work tomorrow?
For me, even debian developers often tend to _react_ too quick, instead
of stepping back, getting the whole picture first and possibly _acting_
that nothing will be done evtly. Think how many people were involved
bringing un*x to where it is today. I wouldn't even want to have to
keep up with some of them, despite them all together. See, what i mean?
> I tried to show that there are cases when users have a good reason to
> run these programs. I have many times had the need to use them,
> myself or telling other people to run them. And it has not been on my
> computer, or a computer I can administer. It has been just any
Then anybody should be glad to find them in the standard places,
instead of cluelessly being mixed up anywhere in an anyhow filesystem.
> "Hi Debian, can you tell me what IP-addresses are attached to your
> network interfaces?"
> "IP-addresses? What, why do you want to know? You are only a user. I
Exactly. The admin adminsiters a system and prepares if for the users
that simply use it.
Again, this is how un*x works for a respectable long time and is the
reason why it has come up so popular again - in lack of alternatives!
greetings, martin
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