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Ciaran McCreesh posted <20051213032043.55a6e40f@××××××××.home>, excerpted |
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below, on Tue, 13 Dec 2005 03:20:43 +0000: |
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|
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> Ok, new draft. Changes are as follows: |
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[] |
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> * Changed /var/lib/portage to /var/lib/gentoo |
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|
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OK, I must have missed the reason for that, and it isn't listed in one of |
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your "a previous version" notes, unless I missed that too. <g> |
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|
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Assuming the reason wasn't contrary to this (which it probably is, |
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but...), why not /var/lib/portage/news/gentoo? If I read jstubbs' |
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suggestion correctly, the "gentoo" would then serve as the repo name (in |
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place of magic-chicken, altho as he proposed it, that would be part of the |
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filename, not the directory the file is in) as well -- he said naming the |
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current/default repo "gentoo" was sufficient. |
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|
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> * Added emerge --ask thingie |
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|
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> Checks for new news messages should be displayed: |
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[] |
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> * After an ``emerge --pretend`` |
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[] |
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> * Before an ``emerge --ask <target>`` sequence |
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|
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Wouldn't it be less confusing if the news warning appeared in the same |
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place, relative to the package listing, in both of these? Isn't an emerge |
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--ask just the output of pretend, with a confirmation pinned to the end? |
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Shouldn't it continue to be that, at least in concept? |
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|
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> * news.read is now mandatory for interactive clients, and ignored for |
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> gateway clients |
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|
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> When a news item is read, its name should be removed from the |
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> ``news-magic-chicken.unread`` file. If a news client acts as an |
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> interactive reader rather than a gateway, it should then add the name to |
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> a ``news-magic-chicken.read`` file in the same directory with the same |
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> file format (again, ``magic-chicken`` should be a wildcard rather than |
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> hardcoded). |
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|
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First, the change outline doesn't state what the result actually was, in |
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the GLEP. Mandatory would require a MUST (or a similar statement that it's |
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mandatory), while the GLEP words it as a SHOULD. Or is "should" not to be |
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taken in the usual RFC meaning, but rather as an RFC "MUST"? |
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|
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Second but related, the first time I read thru it, I somehow missed the |
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"rather than a gateway" part. Upon rereading, I saw it (obviously), but |
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the effect of the present wording is to deemphasize the "gateway" clause, |
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as well as the "read" file. If it's truly a MUST, then the "read" file |
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deserves equal treatment with the "unread" file, probably by introducing |
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the two as a pair, then treating them in parallel thru most of the other |
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references. |
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|
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(IOW, the read file and its requirement for interactive clients currently |
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appears to be the afterthought it in fact was, without that fact |
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being recognized, which doesn't particularly positively impress, |
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quality-wise.) |
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|
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Third, recall from the discussion of an earlier draft, someone mentioned |
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the multiple meaning of read (as here) vs. "read" (as in README). The |
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suggestion to avoid that ambiguity was "seen" and "unseen". Another might |
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be (un)viewed. I'm not sure this is a big enough issue to matter much, |
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particularly with "unread" there as well, to influence the context, but as |
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I don't recall that point being addressed, I thought I'd mention it here. |
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|
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> Read the whole thing before commenting please. |
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|
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I did. |
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|
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FWIW & IMO... Your tenacity and attention to detail are both extremely |
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good qualities to have in someone doing a GLEP. Few have the attention to |
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detail and self-standards necessary, and I fear many that do would give up |
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due to the barrage of criticism (hopefully all constructive <g>) these |
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things get. Do keep up the good work! IMO, you are /far/ better at it |
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than most would be, and the resulting GLEP will ultimately be the better |
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for it! |
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|
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-- |
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Duncan - List replies preferred. No HTML msgs. |
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"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master -- |
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and if you use the program, he is your master." Richard Stallman in |
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http://www.linuxdevcenter.com/pub/a/linux/2004/12/22/rms_interview.html |
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|
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-- |
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