gnome-vfs error messages

[Sean Middleditch <elanthis awesomeplay com>]

Hey all,

 I've recently seen several utterly useless or misleading error messages
from gnome-vfs.  These are, I believe, due to the fact that it attempts
to match/emulate the standard UNIX I/O semantics.

 One example is the fact that you get "permission denied" errors to
attempting to modify items in static locations.  For example, drop a
file in "network:///".  The error that I don't have permissions doesn't
really make much sense.  Or, while it does on a technical level, it
doesn't make much sense to the user.  Does the error mean that I should
try copying the file there as root?  Does it mean the location isn't
configured properly?  An error message more along the lines of, "You
cannot copy files to the Network Locations folder." would be less
confusing, and clearly indicate the problem - it just flat out isn't
allowed.  I recall having seen other less than stellar error messages
from file operations in the past.

 Additionally, there seems to be a mixture of usage between the URI and
the location name.  For example, when viewing network:/// in Nautilus,
the title becomes the much clearer 'Network', but it remains
'network:///' in the error dialog.  As users probably never typed in
'network:///' directly, and that URI isn't shown anywhere in the UI,
this being used in the error dialog (at least, being used exclusively
there) may further confuse users.  "What's this smb:/// gibberish mean?
I was copying it to the HOME folder!"

 Is this something worth trying to fix?  Is it possible to fix without
adding/changing API/ABI?