Chuck Dale <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote on Wed, 01 Mar 2000:
> Sure, keep the software modular, but that doesn't mean you have to have
> really mean documentation. As sendmail is the default with all
> distributions I can think of,
Debian uses Exim. :-)
> include links for it and for qmail and
> Postfix and you should be about done. People running other MTAs will
> probably already know how to do it.
Hmm, okay, true.
> And the ironic thing is that sendmail is pretty much the newbie's MTA.
> Think how many RedHat installs are running sendmail without the user
> knowing what it is..
Indeed.
> I did actually read a number of these (Telsa's was first), but they are
> very long files to try and fit into your head. I'd much prefer lots of
> those settings to also be settable within the interface where I actually
> want the change rather than reading a config file.
They *are* settable within the interface. Just type ":set <tab>"
(and keep repeating pressing tab until you get to the setting you want
to change). :-) Of course it won't save the settings....
Anyway, all silliness aside, what's different from doing the changes
"within the interface" as compared to editing a .muttrc file? And you
say that the example .muttrc's are too long and complain too many
options -- that problem won't go away with having an interface?
You can actually get by with *no* .muttrc, pretty much everything in
Mutt has reasonable defaults.
There is not that much difference in having an interactive interface
where you can change settings, than having a config file. Both will
contain the same settings if you use an example .muttrc, and if the
example .muttrc has good comments then it's equal to having
context-sensitive help.
It would be nice if Mutt did have some sort of configuration tool like
the Linux kernel "make menuconfig" -- but that shouldn't necessarily be
part of the Mutt program itself, just an additional tool. Even with
that you wouldn't be able to (easily?) create hooks and such, at least
no complex hooks, so at some point you will have to resort to config
file editing if you'd want a really complex configuration.
Mutt has a lot of configuration directives, that's part of the reason
why it is so powerful. No matter how hard you try, you can't make that
"dead easy". Sure good documentation helps, but even that won't get
over the fact that the user does need to learn things in order to use
the configuration effectively.
So you think it would be nice to learn things "little by little"? Sure,
that's possible too, start with no .muttrc at all. Then when you run
into something you'd like to change, read the manual and add the
relevant sections to your .muttrc.
In my opinion the best way to help newbies create their first .muttrc's
would be a tool like the linux "make menuconfig" that could have
different sections (basic settings, POP setup, IMAP setup, mailboxes,
mailing lists, misc advanced settings, ...) and then have
context-sensitive help for each setting, direct from the Mutt manual
SGML file. However, doing something like that is a fair bit of work,
and I know I don't have the time to do it.
I remember hearing about something like "dotconfig" that can be used to
create a multitude of various different "dot-files". I've never tried
or seen that myself, so I don't know how easy or difficult it would be
to add Mutt support to that.
Mikko
--
// Mikko H�nninen, aka. Wizzu // [EMAIL PROTECTED] // http://www.iki.fi/wiz/
// The Corrs list maintainer // net.freak // DALnet IRC operator /
// Interests: roleplaying, Linux, the Net, fantasy & scifi, the Corrs /
All I ask is a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.
