Re: Two suggestions for woody release

[Anders Jackson <anders.jackson@minpost.nu>]

Rob Mahurin <rob@utk.edu> writes:


[...]

> 
> Hello,
> 
> I'm not a developer, but I've been using Debian since hamm and lurk
> occasionally on this list.  I consider myself a smart guy and a Debian
> power user.  I upgraded to woody earlier this month, wanted to try
> galeon, and could not for the life of me decipher what should go into
> /etc/apt/preferences from the manual page.  I got an example from
> another (more powerful, apparently) user on IRC and puzzled it out
> from there, but I don't trust it and I'm going to be very wary for a
> while before I do any dist-upgrading.
> 
> I don't know where Steve got the idea that the file is difficult to
> figure out, but I'm sure not ready to explain it to anybody yet.
> 
> What would help would be a clearer manual page (I'd offer to write it,
> but I don't understand how it works!) and an example in
> /usr/share/doc/apt/examples, with explanatory comments.  
> 
> I'll go back to userland now.

No! Please, don't!  

You are (probably) a perfect person to do this!  

Instead, write what you understands about apt in a web-page.  Give the
URL here and ask if you got it right.  You will probably get it wrong
and lots of answers.  Read them, and the manual pages, and improve
your document and ask again.  In this way are you bound to be an expert
in apt config files.

It takes a real hero, not afraid of misunderstanding, to writing this. 
Are you one? ;-)

/Jackson