Re: Who keeps messing with my Menu drawer???

[Daniel Lyddy <daniell cs berkeley edu>]

Matt wrote:
> Well here's an idea, install *all* your software, then change your
> settings. Seriously though, the RPM script, for the sake of the majority,
> installs the various menu items in a default place. Also, due to it not
> being vastly intelligent, it'll assume that the existing menu structure is
> as-per the default as Mandrake/RedHat/... originally intended.

In that case, the script should just do nothing or at least print a
warning message.

> 
> If the script has genuinely changed something that it had no need to do,
> then yes, this is possibly a bug, at least. There's no easy way to work
> out which RPM did it apart from logging and checking everything you
> install, one by one.

I am willing to bet that most of the RPMs that want to be "seen" on the
menu are doing this.  Again, it's not just one RPM, but many.

> Do you want to volunteer to write more intelligent RPM install scripts? In
> fact, I'm sure something like that *is* in development...

No, I'm not interested in the inner workings of RPM, just the results of
its use.  For me to make any meaningful contribution would require me to
scale a learning curve that plenty of others have already climbed.  This
sort of duplication of effort would not be efficient, in the grand
scheme of things.  Besides, aren't Gnome developers interested in
feedback from pure users?

In any case, I've realized that this specific complaint is more
appropriately addressed to an RPM mailing list.  However, the general
statement: "Assume your users aren't MS-Idiots, and respect their custom
configurations," is worth repeating.

Dan

PS To Matt: I regret tossing out the flame bait in my last post.  I
apologize to you for it, and thank you for not taking the bait.  Your
restraint is admirable.
-- 
Daniel Lyddy		daniell@cs.berkeley.edu
California PATH/UC Berkeley Vision Group
Richmond Field Station, Building 452
1357 S. 46th St, Richmond, CA 94804-4698
tel: +1 (510) 231-5659  fax: +1 (510) 231-5600
url: http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~daniell
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