[arch-general] Discussion on usage of [testing] repo - minimal requirements?

[Myra Nelson]

On Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 10:56, Tom Gundersen <teg at jklm.no> wrote:
> On Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 4:58 PM, Leonid Isaev <lisaev at umail.iu.edu> wrote:
>> Say I want to try package X, but instead I download pkgs X, Y and Z from
>> testing. Now my scripts which rely on /proc/.../BAT0/* fail because pkg Y is a
>> new kernel, /dev/cdrom is gone since pkg Z is udev. And all I wanted is to try
>> out new qemu-kvm...
>>
>> IMHO saying that testing is for experienced people is misleading since
>> "experienced" is a vague term; such statements only repell users. A useful
>> guideline would be "think three times before you type and understand how
>> package management works".
>
> Cherry-picking might work, but we are not even trying to make sure it
> does, so it would be by coincidence.
>
> -t
>
To All:

To clarify what I do, I build my base and core packages from testing
compiled to my architecture. If anything else is broken I have to find
the error and fix it, wait for the broken package to be updated, or
find an alternative that does work. The working alternative is
sometimes better than the original. By that I mean a lighter weight
app, one that forces the user to think about what they're doing, or
actually works better just doens't have all the bells and whistles.
That's my version of knowing how to use and take care of a computer.
That's one reason I like Linux. I don't think it's for everyone, but
neither do I think a blanket statement about users that don't know any
better might just hinder the learning process. I once had a manager,
who after I'd made a fairly serious and costly error to the tune of
about $60000 circa 1978, made the statement "If you never screw up
your not out there doing anything."

I agree with Tom about not cherry picking just for the sake of doing
so, but don't turn people off to using testing. IMHO it helps find
edge cases and bugs that might not be found for years. This is turning
into a rant from me about knowing how to use a computer besides
turning it on and clicking the mouse. Seems like I'm highjacking an
earnest discussion but can't seem to see the side that says don't do
that. Maybe I should put my money where my mouth is and try to write a
wiki article on the plusses and minuses of using testing and let
people critique that.

Myra


-- 
Life's fun when your sick and psychotic!