From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 4.0.0 (2022-12-14) on finch.gentoo.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=DMARC_NONE,MAILING_LIST_MULTI, NICE_REPLY_A,RDNS_DYNAMIC autolearn=unavailable autolearn_force=no version=4.0.0 Received: from server.grantgoodyear.org (adsl-156-181-202.gsp.bellsouth.net [66.156.181.202]) by chiba.3jane.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id 800EBABD4F for ; Sat, 15 Jun 2002 08:36:44 -0500 (CDT) Received: by server.grantgoodyear.org (Postfix, from userid 1000) id 1F138D01; Sat, 15 Jun 2002 10:06:28 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: [gentoo-dev] Build Doc Error From: "orange-pc.ces.clemson.edu" To: gentoo-dev@gentoo.org In-Reply-To: <00b201c21440$2cfc9b50$7f542ed5@aap> References: <200206141552.34781.dougg@ufl.edu> <1024089539.3494.6.camel@koch.random-chaos.org.uk> <00b201c21440$2cfc9b50$7f542ed5@aap> Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Ximian Evolution 1.0.5 Date: 15 Jun 2002 10:06:28 -0400 Message-Id: <1024149988.3753.45.camel@server.grantgoodyear.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Sender: gentoo-dev-admin@gentoo.org Errors-To: gentoo-dev-admin@gentoo.org X-BeenThere: gentoo-dev@gentoo.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.6 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: gentoo-dev@gentoo.org List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: Gentoo Linux developer list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: X-Archives-Salt: 78ac114b-8e2e-4d52-bd71-8460ac10500b X-Archives-Hash: 5bd8f54f26e36071d65443ce30958203 > Hmmm... I thought this was a distro for people who KNOW what they're doing > ;-) > Maybe, instead of creating such a symlink, there could be a short mention in > the docs about the path to the files being relative to /boot. > There are so many things newbies (of which I am one) have to learn the hard > way that this one, in comparison, is very minor. Why? I'm not sure what problem you're trying to solve. By having the boot --> . symbolic link we have an elegant solution that works for everybody, and doesn't hurt anybody. If the user has a separate /boot partition and doesn't want to have grub point to (hd,x)/boot, then that's fine. That user can even delete the symlink. There was a time when we did not have that symbolic link. I know that I got very tired of the subsequent "Hey, my computer won't boot." "Did you use a separate /boot partition like it says in the docs?" rounds that then occurred several times per week. So, Daniel Robbins came up with a transparent solution that works for everybody. Finally, I would like to clear up a common misconception. Gentoo Linux is, indeed, "geared towards Linux power users". My personal opinion, though, is that it is unrealistic to expect even power users to understand everything that goes into a Linux distribution, so saying that Gentoo is "a distro for people who KNOW what they're doing" seems like a bit much. (In fact, many people seem to come to Gentoo precisely so that they can learn more about Linux without the drudgery required with installing an LFS distro.) I prefer to say that Gentoo Linux is a distro for people who want flexibility. Anything we can do to make it easier for the user that does _not_ unduly impact flexibility is something we should do, and most, if not all, of our developers instinctively seem to understand that notion. Of course, we don't always succeed, but we do try. The opinions expressed above are, of course, my own. Daniel Robbins and the other developers may not agree. -g2boojum-