Re: [gentoo-dev] have portage be quiet by default

[Dale]

Zac Medico wrote:
> On 11/13/2011 03:09 PM, Thomas Sachau wrote:
>> Zac Medico schrieb:
>>> On 11/13/2011 07:49 AM, Thomas Sachau wrote:
>>>> Please give me a good reason, why i should by default do more things (adding quiet-build=n to the
>>>> default emerge opts or searching for and opening the build.log) and what i or others do get from
>>>> that. And less lines on the screen is no added value for me, it removes value.
>>> Why should we expose new users to legacy defaults that are useless to
>>> more than 99% users, when they would most likely prefer the
>>> --quiet-build display?
>> Why should we change the default behaviour for existing users? Those, who dont want to see it,
>> probably already use --jobs or quiet-build=y. For the rest, they either dont know about those
>> options (which does not get better, if some default behaviour changes) or they dont want those
>> options (in which case you force them to change their configuration/scripts/way to do things).
> When we change defaults, it affects everyone who hasn't yet overridden
> the setting in EMERGE_DEFAULT_OPTS. That's just how it is.
>
>> Additionally, do you have any numbers about existing or new users and about the percentage, which
>> would like the build output to be quiet?
> All I have is the feedback from this mailing list, an my own intuition.
> My intuition says that --quiet-build is reasonable default that the
> silent majority of people will welcome.
>

Here is some feedback then.  I liked it the way it was.  When a build 
fails, I do a one of install of that package and I like to see the 
output.  Why, because sometimes it gives me a hint as to why it failed 
or something I can google for.

This is a users point of view.  I expect things to remain the same 
unless that will break something.  I like emerge, or any program, to 
work like it always has, at least what the user sees, until the change 
is so drastic to compel a change a user does see.

So, the option to change the output that people expect to see is not 
anything that needs to be done.  It doesn't change what portage does 
under the hood and there is no real reason to change it.

On a side note.  I do wish things like this, added features to portage, 
could be announced on something like user-announce.  That would mean a 
addition mailing list but that could be read only except to devs.  When 
something is going to change, announce it there.  Maybe some thread on 
the forums for those who don't use mailing lists.  I have noticed that 
portage is a moving target.  Things are constantly being added and it is 
difficult to keep up at times.  This would certainly help.  The messages 
would be few but I think it would be awesome to have.  When something 
gets added, send out a announcement so people know to expect it and can 
decide if it is something they can use.

Hope you enjoy my feedback even tho it is different from what you 
expected.  I'm rare but not that rare.

Dale

:-)  :-)