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On 4/16/07, Thomas Tuttle <gentoo@×××××××.net> wrote: |
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> On April 16 at 06:46 EDT, Alan McKinnon hastily scribbled: |
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> > On Friday 13 April 2007, Ryan Sims wrote: |
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> > > On 4/13/07, anhnmncb@×××××.com <anhnmncb@×××××.com> wrote: |
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> > > > hello, |
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> > > > I heard of that using emerge --sync frequently may hert my |
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> > > > hard-disk. |
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> > |
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> > Uninformed idiots who tell you total garbage like that ought to be shot. |
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> > No, they ought to be hung, drawn, quartered and their corpses hung out |
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> > on a stick to be picked clean by crows. |
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> |
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> I apologize for butting in, but this is actually possible if you are |
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> using a Flash memory medium, such as a CompactFlash card or a USB pen |
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> drive, for the filesystem containing Portage. It is true, as you said, |
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> that syncing often will cause no harm to a "normal" hard disk. |
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> |
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> > Seriously, I spend half my days on support debunking just this kind of |
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> > twaddle. |
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> |
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> ...and scaring off users who passed it (probably just because they |
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> misunderstood or misinterpreted something) by replying like this. |
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> |
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> Please, be nice. |
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> |
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> --Thomas Tuttle |
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> |
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|
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While perhaps expressed in a harsh way, I think Alan's frustration is |
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understandable. There is a lot of bad information out there, on |
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subjects from CFLAGS to hard drive failure to toolchain rebuilds, |
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based on hearsay and rumor rather than testing and understanding. |
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When there are people posting bad advice based on misunderstanding and |
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users accepting alarmist statements without checking facts or |
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questioning sources, we get a lot of static on b.g.o, this list and |
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the forums. |
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|
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Perhaps a more polite (but less emotionally satisfying ;) ) response |
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is: don't just accept advice because its scary or kewl. If someone's |
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promising performance gains or warning about damage risks, ask for |
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real numbers/research, not just hype or alarmism. |
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|
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My 2cents worth. Hopefully I didn't come across as insulting, but I |
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do think that a little more health skepticism in the gentoo user base |
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(and indeed the world at large) would be A Good Thing (tm). |
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|
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-- |
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Ryan W Sims |
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-- |
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gentoo-user@g.o mailing list |
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