Re: Job: simplified creation of Debian Jr. accounts
On Fri, 23 Feb 2007 16:00:41 -0800
Andrew Sackville-West <andrew@farwestbilliards.com> wrote:
> do you mean you'd rather use some sort of user/group config to handle
> this? I read the other thread and frankly don't understand it really,
> but will read more and see if I can tease it out.
No. That is overly complex and requires admin intervention. I mean
users ought to be able to change roles themselves with no special
privileges, and with no more difficulty than they might change themes
on their desktop. In fact, I guess my idea is something along the
lines of themes, except with broader impact.
The reason I think this is so important is we cannot get inside the
head of a child and know how they think. It ought to be possible for
a child, by exploring their account on their own, to change the look
and feel so that it suits them. Also, it ought to be possible for
all users, child and adult alike, to fluidly move from one role to
another as their needs and tastes dictate.
Think, for example, of the ability to choose a different DM or WM from
the gdm or kdm greeter when a user logs in. Why shouldn't it be
possible to also select a completely different set of menus and desktop
layout? For example, let's say I work from home. I would like to have
a desktop layout for work and one for play and relaxation. My work
layout has everything I use in my work at my fingertips. My play layout
is quite different, putting more recreational things within easy reach.
> my whole idea is to make it beyond simple to setup a login for your
> child. Messing around with groups is not how I view this being
> done.
Exactly! Let's leave the "messing around" to the children. Groups are
far too rigid.
> I've thought on this a bit and don't really have any good
> solutions. I think the biggest issue is less how to implement
> configuration but what those configurations should be with the idea
> that the details of how to implement them will fall out naturally
> (wishful thinking I know). There are several issues that have to be
> dealt with, not the least of which is *changing* some child's
> configuration when they've become frustrated/too old for the current
> config.
Yes. And the easier it is for children to make such changes for
themselves, the better.
> I see setting up a script that tweaks all the configs for a
> user to fit a particular age group. Later a nice front-end could be
> tacked on to the thing to make click-scroll mom happy.
I really think something a whole lot simpler would work. If the
smarts for such "profile" configs are *in the Debian system* then any
package that is "profile-aware" could provide different default configs
per age range. Then logging in with a different profile should be
doable in a very user-friendly way (e.g. a choice at the gdm or kdm
greeter). So no new front-end is needed, just tweaks to the existing
ones.
Ben
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