Re: Politics and anoouncing

[Thomas Ricks <thomas_ricks@mcg.mot.com>]

I just joined your mailing list today. I had intended to listen for a
few weeks before commenting, but I can't help but speak up on this one.
I apologize.

In my opinion, the vi editor is sort of a system utility that any
experienced UNIX user anywhere should rightfully expect to be present on
any installation. Kind of like editor in DOS. By all means use a
friendlier editor by default, but install vi too! The fact that it is
installed doesn't mean that it will be forced on users, just that it
will be available if it is ever needed.

It seems to me that this falls under the design guideline I read on your
website: "If a feature is useful for 10% of cases but makes no
difference for the remainder then add it." Vi is useful for more
experienced users that like it, and the fact that it is installed
shouldn't hurt anyone.

By the way, I'm excited to see that a project like Independence exists.
I'm a Linux end-user myself, and not an experienced programmer. I use
Linux at home because I prefer the power and stability of UNIX. However,
I hate being my own system administrator. Maybe I'll share some of my
own ideas about how I think a distribution like Independence should
work. First I'll try to stay quiet for a little while and learn what you
guys are all about.


JF Martinez wrote:
> 
> >
> > >There is one great symbolic gesture that we could do if we follow this
> > >line and it is Indy by default not installing VI (unfortunately Emacs
> > >is not installed by default in RedHat so I cannot remove it just to
> > >prove I can do it for my favorite editor and that is not a VI versus
> > >Emacs battle).
> >
> >    We could install pico by default, and have vi be a symlink to pico.  That
> > should put us on slashdot as raving heretics for sure!
> >
> 
> In fact I was thinking in LPE and in a dirty trick of my own ensuring
> thata if a user invokes VI while it is not installed we warn it that
> VI is not instlllaed and that he can resort to LPE or install the VI
> RPM by hand.
> 
> Notioce that I never told VI should not be shipped: I am for allowing
> traditional Unixers using Indy as a traditional Unix (I am a commnad
> line myself) what I can't stand is people trying to force other people
> to use Linux as a traditional Unix even when it is unadequete for the
> user.
> 
> --
>                         Jean Francois Martinez
> 
> Project Independence: Linux for the Masses
> http://www.independence.seul.org

-- 
Thomas Ricks
Phone: (602) 438-6152
Pager: (602) 244-3252 x2883
Email: thomas_ricks@mcg.mot.com