From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id ; Fri, 18 May 2001 11:27:43 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id ; Fri, 18 May 2001 11:27:33 -0400 Received: from snark.tuxedo.org ([207.106.50.26]:53768 "EHLO snark.thyrsus.com") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id ; Fri, 18 May 2001 11:27:28 -0400 Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 11:26:25 -0400 From: "Eric S. Raymond" To: Arjan van de Ven Cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Subject: Re: CML2 design philosophy heads-up Message-ID: <20010518112625.A14309@thyrsus.com> Reply-To: esr@thyrsus.com Mail-Followup-To: "Eric S. Raymond" , Arjan van de Ven , linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org In-Reply-To: <20010518034307.A10784@thyrsus.com> <20010518105353.A13684@thyrsus.com> <3B053B9B.23286E6C@redhat.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline User-Agent: Mutt/1.2.5i In-Reply-To: <3B053B9B.23286E6C@redhat.com>; from arjanv@redhat.com on Fri, May 18, 2001 at 04:11:23PM +0100 Organization: Eric Conspiracy Secret Labs X-Eric-Conspiracy: There is no conspiracy Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Arjan van de Ven : > Aunt Tillie doesn't even know what a kernel is, nor does she want > to. I think it's fair to assume that people who configure and > compile their own kernel (as opposed to using the distribution > supplied ones) know what they are doing. I'd like to break these assumptions. Or at the very least see how far they can be bent. I know this sounds crazy to a lot of hackers, but I think there's a certain amount of unhelpful elitism and self-puffery in the "kernels are hard to configure and they *should* be hard to configure* attitude. Let's give Aunt Tillie a chance to surprise us. > Or at least make something like a "Expert level" question as first > question, so that people who DO know what they are doing can select > the options they want. Already in the plan -- in fact the EXPERT symbol exists in CML2 now. -- Eric S. Raymond It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution. The freemen of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle. We revere this lesson too much ... to forget it -- James Madison.