Public SourceMage Discussion List

[Karsten Behrmann <BearPerson AT gmx.net>]

David Kowis <dkowis AT shlrm.org> wrote:
> Karsten Behrmann wrote:
>> Eric Sandall <eric AT sandall.us> wrote:
>>> * The default installed /etc/fstab is missing some common entries, such 
>>> as:
>> 
>> I figured fstab was getting a bit cluttery for new users.
>> That's why there's a default /etc/fstab containing only what you'll
>> need on a canonical install, and an extra /etc/fstab.example from
>> which you can copy/paste any extra lines when you need them.
> 
> Bleck. I don't particularly like that. Unless it doesn't leave an extra 
> file laying around in /etc ...

Hmm, point.
Maybe an /etc/examples/ or /usr/share/doc/examples/ (bleh) populated
by us?
The reason I don't like crunching all the examples into one file is
that it's a long read.

It doesn't matter as much with files like fstab, in which order is pretty
much irrelevant and you can just go
# ===== examples below this line, skip on first read =====

On the other hand, when you're a new user editing his lilo.conf, I'd
certainly not want to have to delete a bunch of lines to get it to work
(neccessary with the current lilo.conf.example), and I'd rather not have
to read through hundreds of lines documenting obscure features until I
find the line where I put that "append=noapic" that makes my box boot.

So in summary, I think we serve new (or hasty) users better if our default
files are a small and essential, and all the "reference" stuff is put
somewhere where you don't need to scroll through just to get your system
set up.

Just My Humble Opinion, of course.

So Far,
  Karsten