Limitations of Ports System

[David Southwell]

On Friday 14 December 2007 08:08:54 Paul Schmehl wrote:
> --On Friday, December 14, 2007 12:19:06 +0000 RW
>
> <fbsd06 at mlists.homeunix.com> wrote:
> > On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 22:34:58 -0500
> >
> > "Aryeh M. Friedman" <aryeh.friedman at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Namely if I build abc with options 123 and 345 and
> >> def with 345 and 678 then 345 will be cached for def since we already
> >> set it for abc.
> >
> > How do you know the user wants 345 set on both ports?
> >
> > It might be a useful stable feature on "abc", but causes lock-ups on
> > "def"
>
> SInce I've already killfiled Aryeh, I can only infer what you are
> responding to and respond to him.  But let me state this emphatically in
> the hopes it will get through his thick skull. 
I do wish you could acquire the maturity to distinguish between the advantages 
that could come arguing your case clearly and collegially and the 
disadvantages that acrue from being personally antagonistic towards someone 
with whose analysis you happen to disagree. 

For me when someone becomes abusive they destroy their own credibility and get 
to sound as though they believe their opinions antitle them to be hateful and 
that their own views are somehow godgiven.


> IT IS NOT THE JOB OF PORTS 
> TO MAKE DECISIONS FOR USERS. 

IMHO Shouting make you less rather than more credible.
> \Please repeat that one hundred times until it 
> gets through.
>
Endless repetition does not add strength to analysis!!
> No port should *ever* make decisions on a users behalf.  Suggestions, yes
> (e.g. OPTIONS that are enabled by default.)  Decisions, no.  If you depend
> on another port *and* on certain knobs in that dependency being enabled,
> then *tell* the user that during your port's install and let them decide
> how to handle it.  DO NOT enable those knobs yourself, no matter how
> tempting it may be.

IMHO You would sound more credible if you used the IMHO a bit more!! You might 
also gain some respect if you followed your own advice. Make suggestions for 
others to consider - do not decide, in advance, they are thick skulled if 
they do not agree with you!!
>
> It is beyond impossible for anyone to know what every user who is
> installing ports already has on their boxes or what they might want to add
> or ***what you might break***.  Once you begin making decisions for them,
> you could well stomp all over something that was functioning perfectly
> normally and break a critical box.
>
> DON'T DO IT.  That is so Microsoftian it's not funny.

 IMHO Shouting, hectoring and lecturing does not add weight to anyones point 
of view.