[gentoo-amd64] Re: error updating deep world

[Duncan]

Harm Geerts posted <200601192336.02461.harmgeerts@××××.nl>, excerpted
below,  on Thu, 19 Jan 2006 23:36:02 +0100:

> On Thursday 19 January 2006 18:01, Gavin Seddon wrote:
>> Hi,
>> I ran the updater.  I received
>> ' * GNU info directory index is up-to-date.
>>  * IMPORTANT: 57 config files in /etc need updating.
>>  * IMPORTANT: 1 config files in /usr/kde/3.4/share/config need updating.
>>  * Type emerge --help config to learn how to update config files.
>
> I asked you once before: "is Gentoo the right choice for you?"
> With all the posts you've made on this mailinglist since I asked this
> question, I can say without a doubt in my mind "no".

Let me say this.  Some people take longer to learn something than others.
They may not learn, especially the first time, by simply reading.  They
must DO it, often wrong, and then struggle with getting it right, before
they learn it, but once they do, they don't tend to make the same mistake
again.

The thing, tho, is that often such people have "the patience of the
saints", which is a good thing, because they often NEED it.

I'm personally glad this sort of trial hasn't been mine.  However, I have
a LOT of respect for those that go thru it, and persevere.

I'd be very glad to have a Doctor such as Gavin.  He'd be patient, both
with me, and with whatever I may be suffering.  There may be some doctors
that would give up if whatever I had didn't prove to be a "textbook"
illness.  Gavin has demonstrated that he'd not be one of them.  If 100 or
500 medications didn't seem to help, he'd still be working with me trying
the 101st, the 501st, until together, we found something that DID work.

Yes, Gentoo is in many ways tougher than some other distributions. 
However, Gavin has I believe correctly stated, in the past, that despite
that, Gentoo has been better for him, because it's the /people/ that make
the distribution, the users, the community.  Coming from the supposedly
newbie friendly Mandrake, I can say without a doubt that the Gentoo user
community IS more helpful.  Sometimes, that's what makes all the
difference.

Certainly, I couldn't blame Gavin for giving up after the trouble Gentoo
has been, for him.  However, he's right, there AREN'T that many
communities that would continue to be there for him, as the Gentoo
community has been.  If after all that, he's still here, we gotta be doing
/something/ right, and if he's willing to stick around, I for one am
willing to continue to help him, as I endeavor to help /everyone/, where I
can.

Recognizing there are areas where others would need similar patience with
me. and most likely with you as well, I can only hope that God or Fate or
whatever you choose to believe in, will see fit to give me and you, folks
with equal patience and perseverance, when we need it.

Many of you have seen me go off on someone or other, losing patience. 
When I do, it's because they don't seem to me to be even TRYING to learn. 
If there's one thing I can say about Gavin, aside from his remarkable
patience, it's that he has been consistently teachable, WANTING to learn. 
While it might take a bit of patience on my part to help him, I'd
CERTAINLY rather spend it there, where I KNOW it will be of some help,
than on someone who doesn't even seem to be trying, and even MORE
certainly, I'm glad it's not ME having those problems, so I can
easily afford the patience to help him thru his. As I said, I haven't seen
the same problem come back, twice posted by Gavin, and more than I can
say of my own ability to learn, at times. That's a GOOD thing!

> But, like many before me, I'll try to send you in the right direction.
> Take a very good look at the following:
>>  * IMPORTANT: 57 config files in /etc need updating.
>>  * IMPORTANT: 1 config files in /usr/kde/3.4/share/config need updating.
>>  * Type emerge --help config to learn how to update config files.
>
> You know what this represents?
> This represents your system "crying out" for maintenance!
> Now thoroughly read the following links

Now /that/ part I 100% agree with.  Seeing that many needing updating at a
time would be a rather bad dream for me, and I do hope it continues to
/remain/ in the fantasy realm, as I prefer to update my configs when there
are just one or two to worry about, certainly not into the double-digits. 

Now that Gavin has been made aware of the importance of updating his
configs, I'm sure he will, and we won't see him posting a similar message
next time.  Meanwhile, he still has all those configs to work thru, and
yes, you are absolutely correct in that it should be the /first/ order of
business, as that alone could easily solve a number of issues, and prevent
more from developing.

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman in
http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2004/12/22/rms_interview.html


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