Re: File manager tree.

[Paul Warren <pdw ferret lmh ox ac uk>]

On Fri, 28 May 1999, Cory Watson wrote:

> >Basically guys, whenever a desision like this needs making, rather than
> >taking a vote and displeasing some, let's just have an options in the
> >prefs.
> 
> Excellent point James!

Hmm. I disagree.  This is a reasonable philosophy, but it must be balanced
against the effect it has on bloat and code readability.  Yes, make things
options, but first evaluate if what you are making an option is actually
useful, or is in fact just going to confuse many people, and help a few.

More options also lead to bugs going unnoticed for longer.  For example,
if you have 5 boolean options that are not entirely independent, there 
are 2^5 = 32 possible configurations.  If a bug only becomes apparent in
one of these, it could be a long time before it gets spotted by someone
with the skills to fix it.

I don't agree with options for the sake of options.  Make the default
configuration Good and Sensible, and little few options are actually
required.

Paul