Re: [gentoo-dev] GUI installer

[Evan Powers <powers.161@osu.edu>]

On Friday 18 April 2003 05:35 am, Mark Bainter wrote:
> A GUI installer lowers the bar for entry on gentoo.  Right now
> many people who might want to use Gentoo, but are yet ready for
> it do not attempt to use it because the install holds the bar
> too high.  That's a good thing.  If we lower the bar so anyone's
> grandma can install Gentoo, anyone's grandma will be flooding
> the gentoo lists and forums with worthless questions that should
> not need to be asked by someone using Gentoo.

1) Have you read gentoo-user recently? Everybody's grandmother already runs 
Gentoo, and already floots the list with worthless questions that "should not 
need to be asked by someone using Gentoo". Nobody cares, it's not a problem.

2) Improved convienience is something (nearly) every "power user" wants. The 
fact that a newbie can mistake convienience with simplicity is not my 
problem. I still want convienience. "emerge" itself is a perfect example of 
this--it looks simple. That doesn't mean it is.

2a) A GUI can improve the convienience of an install for "power users" who 
would be comfortable with the manual install, but don't want to be bothered. 
I /can/ perform the installation process manually, and I would fight to the 
death any attempt to remove that capability. But just because I /can/, 
doesn't mean I /want to/. If I want to install in a manner straightforward 
enough that it can be automated, it should be automated. That's why I have a 
computer.

2b) The fact that some newbie might look at this and think things are simple 
or idiot proof is not the "power user's" problem, and doesn't mean we "power 
users" should sacrifice the advantages it might offer us.

3) The install is probably the only thing in Gentoo someone slightly more 
skilled than necessary to admin a Red Hat install wouldn't be capable of. If 
that's true, why shouldn't we remove that barrier to entry? The point of 
Gentoo is not the elite nature of its current user base. It's the technology 
behind it. If we can give more classes of user access to our technology, why 
shouldn't we?

Okay, I'm done biting on the flaimbait.

Evan

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