Re: File manager tree.

[Ben Frantzdale <frantzdb admin arhs net>]

On Sat, 29 May 1999, Paul Warren wrote:

> 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


Yes. Options are good, but not always the best idea... I'd say, if there's
a question like this, first ask the list, then, if there is no concensus,
make the thing in question an option.

--Ben