Les Mikesell wrote: > Mike Cronenworth wrote: >> >>> The fact that you don't use a service the way it was intended doesn't >>> make it useless. >>> >> > Pretty much every program with a unix heritage assumes that >> sendmail is >> > available to deliver occasional status and warning messages. >> >> Thank you for your response, however, I did not install Fedora just >> yesterday. I came about writing this e-mail *after* observing common >> usage of Fedora by normal desktop users. > > By 'normal desktop users', do you mean people who don't understand the > capabilities? That's a temporary situation. >> >> Adding a form during installation to setup an MTA will only frighten >> new users. Most would probably skip it anyway as they wouldn't know >> their ISPs smtp server. > > If you don't use email, why are you using computers again? And if you > do, you've provided exactly this information to one or several email > client programs. Doing it once for sendmail lets any number of users > run any number of email clients that just hand off to sendmail for > delivery. > >> But! Let's say for a moment we have it your way and give users a >> chance to get e-mail notifications on their desktop. They'll only be >> receiving a logwatch e-mail telling them a `df` or what packages they >> installed from the latest Fedora update rollout -- I'm sure if I ran a >> poll a majority would say this kind of e-mail is useless. Just open a >> file browser to find free space. > > You may not understand the value until your machine dies and you are > curious about the warnings that preceded it (like smartctl screaming > that your disk is not healthy) so you might avoid the problem next time. > If they've automatically been delivered to some other machine they will > still be available when you decide they are important. > >>> I don't know what you think 'normal' users do, but most of the point >>> of having a computer is that it can do things for you automatically. >>> >> >> sendmail is only utilized by logwatch through a default Fedora >> install. Yes, lots of traditional unix programs used a MTA, but Fedora >> doesn't install any of those. > > Huh? I think you mean 'you' didn't install any of them - or you don't > know that you did. > >> Why should a default Fedora install user have to suffer just because >> *you* want them started up? > > An idle process hardly makes you suffer... > >> I'm looking at the majority of users here. Simply because you use >> sendmail to send you an email or atd to tell you to wake up in the >> morning doesn't mean default Fedora install users use it. This kind of >> elitist attitude does Fedora no good. > > I don't think it is elitist to expect users to use the services of a > unix like operating system. Why else would they install it? > This is scary - I am agreeing with Les for a change. I would add one more point to this - the average Fedora is not the average Linux user. It is probably one of the worst distributions for a new Linux user. Between the short version life cycle, and trying out new ways of doing things, you are expecting a lot from a new user. Add to that the way updates sometimes break things, and you stand a good chance of scaring someone that is moving to Linux from Windows back into using Windows.
Mikkel -- Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with Ketchup!
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