Bug#184507: 2.3.9.1 grammar
On Fri, Mar 21, 2003 at 01:14:55PM -0600, Manoj Srivastava wrote:
> >> On Fri, 21 Mar 2003 11:02:20 -0800,
> >> Chris Waters <xtifr@debian.org> said:
> > Why don't you tell me what it *does* mean (or what you think it's
> > supposed to mean), and I'll see if I can come up with some decent
> > wording for that.
> >From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (12 Sep 2002) [foldoc]:
>
> by hand
>
> 1. Said of an operation (especially a repetitive, trivial,
> and/or tedious one) that ought to be performed automatically
> by the computer, but which a hacker instead has to step
> tediously through. [...]
And that's what you think we ought to have in policy? :)
I mean, what I got out of that definition is that policy should say,
"you can prompt the user, as long as the prompts are either far more
stupid and tedious than they need to be, or you use debconf." Surely
that's not what we want? :)
I'm sorry, I was trying an old trick my mom used to use when she'd
help me write papers (she was a professional writer and editor).
She'd point to some section that was unclear and say, "what are you
trying to say there?" And I'd tell her what I was trying to say, and
she'd respond, "we'll why don't you just say that, then?" :)
So, let me try one more time. When policy says, "you can prompt by
hand or with debconf", what do you think it's trying to say?...
--
Chris Waters | Pneumonoultra- osis is too long
xtifr@debian.org | microscopicsilico- to fit into a single
or xtifr@speakeasy.net | volcaniconi- standalone haiku
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