Re: Done

[Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org>]

On Wed, 10 Sep 2003 14:43:29 -0400, Joey Hess <joeyh@debian.org> said: 

> I think brevity can be a virtue. Maybe you don't, given how
> long-winded your report template managed to be, while saying so
> little. :-P

	Brevity may well be the virtue of princes, but to tell a
 novice use what a package does, whether they should consider
 installing it on their machine, how it is different from the
 competition (if any), and the advantages or disadvantages of the
 package - all in under 80 characters -- well, that, for the majority
 of one liner descriptions I see, smacks of a misfounded expectation
 of genius. 

	I am not sure of the packages you refer to, but the odd dozen
 or so I chased down, the one liner was indeed inadequate.

	Why is there this desire for arcana, or a  gauntlet of
 learning curves to be thrown at users as a rite of passage before
 they can use our packages?  Yes, it costs some time and effort to
 come up qith a meaningful description for new users, but isn't the
 corresponding increase of usability worth it?

	manoj
 not raving and ranting at joeyh specifically
-- 
>From a certain point onward there is no longer any turning back.  That
is the point that must be reached. Kafka
Manoj Srivastava   <srivasta@debian.org>  <http://www.debian.org/%7Esrivasta/>
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