Re: [gentoo-user] Collecting USE variables

[Jorge Almeida <jalmeida@math.ist.utl.pt>]

On Thu, 13 Oct 2005, Holly Bostick wrote:
> Afaik, they are set by /etc/make/profile/make.defaults, and
> overridden/added to
> globally by /etc/make.conf, and individually by /etc/portage/package.use.
> 
The handbook
http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=2&chap=2
says they come from base, default-linux, default-linux/x86 and
default-linux/x86/2004.3 (as an example). default-linux is empty (which
is not confusing, as it may not be empty in the future) but USE settings
in default-linux/x86 are identical with
/usr/portage/profiles/default-linux/x86/2005.1/ (meaning the file
make.defaults in both directories). But are they identical _always_? The
latter directory is the target of the symlink
/etc/make/profile, but what about the former?
> Ah, home users, always thinking the universe revolves around them :-).
> 
> Linux is quite popular in the scientific community, you know-- I'm sure
> the admins at (oh, I dunno, let's just make up something) at Berkely
> (where the Seti @Home project is based) or any random lab at MIT feels
> the same way when they see +kde as a default USE flag.
kde or gnome are DE's. I'm sure every member of the scientific community
needs at least one, be it "bloated" or "minimalistic", and so putting
both of the major ones as default may be an user friendly attitude. 
> 
> The default USE flags represent 'sane defaults' for the broadest range
> of the Gentoo userbase (which I assume the devs know more about than you
> or I-- certainly I, at least).
> 
> So if they feel that a significant enough portion of that userbase
> values the emboss flag, who am I to argue? The whole point of Gentoo is
> customization, so half of the default USE flags that do apply to me I
> disable, and then add another quarter-set of ones that aren't in the
> defaults at all-- I spend an hour or two, when installing, just going
> through USE flags and setting them up to my personal tastes.
Well, I certainly don't know whether a molecular biologist is more
computer savvy than, say, a physicist or an engineer, but anyway I'd
like to believe they're into Linux rather than Windows.

Of course the thing is harmless, but adds a bit to the confusion. And I
still can't help feeling that this is somewhat similar to a desktop
world map showing major cities and a small town that happens to be the
author's hometown. :)
> 

 
Jorge 
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