On Fri, Jul 28, 2017 at 8:10 PM, Rich Freeman <ri...@gentoo.org> wrote: > On Fri, Jul 28, 2017 at 4:47 PM, Neil Bothwick <n...@digimed.co.uk> wrote: >> On Sat, 29 Jul 2017 00:24:09 +0700, Ста Деюс wrote: >> >>> But something tells me the reason of absence of the installer are >>> much deeper. >> >> Yes, it is that no one has felt the need to devote the considerable >> amount of time needed to code and test an installer that takes into >> account the far wider range of choices in Gentoo. >> > > While there are some that consider the lack of an installer some kind > of virtue, I think you've really hit the crux of it here. There is no > reason that Gentoo couldn't have an installer that at least gives you > a default stage3 to start from, or a few alternative options. > > However, in the end it requires that somebody actually build it. From > what I've seen when this issue comes up people fall into two > categories: > > 1. People who really want an installer because they're struggling to > get Gentoo working. Well, if they struggle to get it working chances > are they're going to struggle even more to build an installer for > everybody else to use. > 2. People who could build an installer if they wanted to, but they > don't really need to, because they either are happy with doing it > manually, or already have some rough scripts that are good enough for > them. > > Nobody is going to "ban" a Gentoo installer, and there have been > points in time where people have worked on one. However, until > somebody actually both wants to build one and is able to build one we > probably won't have one. That isn't some kind of policy - it is just > the reality of how volunteer FOSS projects work. >
Not to get away from OP's question, but how good would the installer need to be before it held the interest of any developers that manage the website or handbook? I ask because the much simpler thing I suggested - fleshing out the handbook - has been done and redone by some individuals and some of the guides are truly inspired. Unfortunately, I think it keeps being redone because these guides are hard to find and because the people who make them have no way to contribute to the handbook. Sakaki's EFI install guide, while very specific, is something that the majority of people who want to use Linux but don't want to maintain Portage seem to expect from the handbook. It actually tells them how to configure most of the things that produce a modern x86 system that interacts with a user. I mention it because it is the only guide I'm aware of that has persisted long enough to be indexed by Google that is also still relevant. The problem most people seem to have with Gentoo is not necessarily the installation process, but knowing what to configure after they have it installed. R0b0t1.
