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On Wed, Apr 06, 2016 at 12:15:58AM -0400, Richard Yao wrote |
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> If others are not willing to be advocates for ***THOSE USERS THAT WOULD |
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> ONLY MAKE THEMSELVES KNOWN AFTER AN A FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE HAS BEEN MADE |
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> AND PEOPLE ARE DETERMINED TO GO AHEAD WITH THIS***, I suggest having |
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> and testing a plan for backing out the change should the backlash |
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> from users after systems break be more than people can stomach. This |
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> is not the sort of change we should make without an "exit strategy". |
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The problem is that those end users didn't know about it until it they |
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read the news item during an emerge. That is why they "would only make |
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themselves known after a fundamental change has been made". There are a |
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couple of alternatives... |
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a) tell all end-users that they should regularly monitor this list. The |
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disadvantage is that you probably don't want to be flooded with |
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questions from newbies on this list. |
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b) ask on the Gentoo-user mailing list... ***BEFORE MAKING A DECISION |
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AND INVESTING ANY WORK IN A MAJOR CHANGE*** |
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Otherwise, you end up with a scenario similar to the following "fair |
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use" snippett from "The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy" series... |
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ARTHUR DENT: |
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Didn't anyone consider the alternatives? |
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MISTER PROSSER: |
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There aren't any alternatives! But you are quite entitled to make any |
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suggestions or protests at the appropriate time! |
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ARTHUR DENT: |
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Appropriate time? |
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MISTER PROSSER: |
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Yes. |
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ARTHUR DENT: |
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The first I knew about it was when a workmen arrived at the door |
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yesterday. |
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MISTER PROSSER: |
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T- oh! |
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ARTHUR DENT: |
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I asked him if he'd come to clean the windows and he said he'd come to |
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demolish the house! He didn't tell me straight away of course. Oh no. |
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First he wiped a couple of windows and charged me a fiver. Then he told |
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me. |
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MISTER PROSSER: |
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But Mister Dent the plans have been available in the planning office for |
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the last nine months! |
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ARTHUR DENT: |
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Yes! I went round to find them yesterday afternoon. You'd hadn't exactly |
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gone out of your way to pull much attention to them have you? I mean, |
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like actually telling anybody or anything. |
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MISTER PROSSER: |
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The plans were on display. |
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ARTHUR DENT: |
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Ah! And how many members of the public are in the habit of casually |
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dropping around the local planning office of an evening? |
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MISTER PROSSER: |
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Er - ah! |
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ARTHUR DENT: |
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It's not exactly a noted social venue is it? And even if you had popped |
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in on the off chance that some raving bureaucrat wanted to knock your |
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house down, the plans weren't immediately obvious to the eye were they? |
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MISTER PROSSER: |
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That depends where you were looking. |
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ARTHUR DENT: |
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I eventually had to go down to the cellar! |
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MISTER PROSSER: |
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That's the display department. |
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ARTHUR DENT: |
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With a torch! |
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MISTER PROSSER: |
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The lights, had# probably gone. |
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ARTHUR DENT: |
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So had the stairs! |
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MISTER PROSSER: |
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Well you found the notice didn't you? |
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ARTHUR DENT: |
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Yes. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet, stuck |
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in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the |
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Leopard". Ever thought of going into advertising? |
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-- |
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Walter Dnes <waltdnes@××××××××.org> |
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I don't run "desktop environments"; I run useful applications |
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