Re: this debconf stuff is crazy!
Peter Jay Salzman <p@dirac.org> writes:
> begin Shaya Potter <spotter@opus.cs.columbia.edu>
> > what were you doing during the upgrade of the package?
> >
> > It clearly asked me if I wanted debconf to configure it.
> >
> > It even keeps a backup of the original, if you were doing it by hand and
> > accidently said yes.
> >
> > sheesh.
>
> no shit.
>
> but that's really not the point. the point is there should've been some
> kind of message saying something to the effect of:
>
> note: if you let debconf take over your config file, you won't be
> able to modify the config file yourself. you give up all rights
> to tweak it yourself by hand
No, that's not right. You can modify it as much as you want as long as
you stay out of the dexconf section.
> i wouldn't believe that *debian* would do this. it's just bad medicine.
> yast, yes. linuxconf, yes. debian? no.
>
> "recovering" was no big deal. like you pointed out, it saved a copy of
> the old file. but that's like congratulating someone for taking a shit
> in toilet. you'd *expect* it to go into the toilet. if a copy weren't
> saved, then that would be an excellent reason to switch to another
> distribution. immediately.
A more rational person would just file a bug. That's what the BTS is
for.
> i'm not saying it sucks completely. the whole ordeal was resolved in
> under a minute after i realized what i got myself into. i'm just saying
> i was expecting better. perhaps a better solution would've been
> something like what we do with modules.conf. let the distribution take
> it over, but give the user the opportunity to modify it at will. i LIKE
> what debian does with modules.conf. it's one of the most intelligent
> solutions iv'e seen to automation vs control.
That's more or less what dexconf does now.
--
Brian Nelson <nelson@bignachos.com>
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