Adrian Bunk wrote:
On Fri, Feb 15, 2008 at 02:07:41PM -0500, Bill Davidsen wrote:
Adrian Bunk wrote:
On Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 09:26:26PM -0500, Bill Davidsen wrote:
...
In general, if a driver works and is being used, until it *needs*
attention I see no reason to replace it. I don't agree that "it
forces people to try the new driver" is a valid reason, being
unmaintained is only a problem if it needs maintenance. I am not
going to reopen that topic, I'm simply noting a general opposition
to unfunded mandates, and requiring changes to kernel, module and/or
rc.local config is just that.
Keeping a working unmaintained driver in the tree is not a big deal -
we have hundreds of them.
But you miss the main point that removal of an obsolete driver with a
new replacement driver forces people to finally report their problems
with the new driver, thus making the new driver better.
You sure are proud of that new driver! People won't use it because the
old one is working fine, so you think it's fine to force them to make
changes in their system to use the new driver.
Sometimes what is best in the global picture is not what everyone
subjectively considers to be the best thing for him.
Well, our whole society is based on this principle...
Best case is it works
after costing the user some time, worst case it doesn't and breaks their
system, so they stop upgrading the kernel and don't get security fixes.
...
Instead of sending a bug report?
To get the system working.
When removing an obsolete driver adult people suddenly start whining
"the new driver didn't work for me when I tried it one year ago".
And when asking where they reported the bug in the new driver the answer
is that they didn't report it.
Driver development heavily relies on getting bug reports when something
doesn't work.
If you don't see an ethical problem in removing a working driver which
is not taking support resources, in order to force people to test and
debug a driver they don't now and never would need, so that it might in
time offer them the same functionality those users already had... then I
can never make you see why technological extortion is evil. People have
always moved to new drivers without pushing because they were *better*,
guess that model is dead.
--
Bill Davidsen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
"Woe unto the statesman who makes war without a reason that will still
be valid when the war is over..." Otto von Bismark
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