Subject: Re: pkg_add just toasted my entire home directory
To: Todd Whitesel <toddpw@best.com>
From: Erik E. Fair <fair@clock.org>
List: netbsd-bugs
Date: 10/15/1998 09:31:58
There is another level to this - the package system leverages effort: while
I am capable of porting and debugging a package on UNIX if I choose to, why
should I have to recapitulate the effort of everyone who's ever "ported" a
software package to NetBSD? It's not worth my time. The software package
system gives me access to the collective efforts of everyone out there who
contributes to it, and makes the NetBSD system *vastly* more easy to use
and administrate.

Any other argument is about defaults (which we argue to DEATH!) but most of
the time, it's just not important enough to me to be different, and for
those cases where I do care to do something a little different with a
package, I'm still going to end up putting in less effort to keep my
particular configuration than if I had to do the whole package port myself.

This is not just for the clueless - it's also for the harried clueful.

A Very Big "Thank You!" to the people who've put in the effort to make the
NetBSD Package system what it is today.

	Erik <fair@clock.org>