On 12:12 Fri 01 Sep     , David Brownlee wrote:
> >
> >Is there any chance of a consensus on this idea: adding another set to
> >NetBSD's base distribution called plus.tgz or util.tgz.
> >
> 	I think a better approach would be to help integrate pkgsrc
> 	installation into sysinst, so when people install NetBSD they
> 	can select those, or any other available binary packages.

I think I left this too open-ended.  Allow me to try to clarify what my
goal is for this suggestion:

If a binary package is available, pkg_add is very easy, and there really
isn't any need to make the installer any more complicated than it is
already. The problem here is that binaries are often not available.
This happens when installing a snapshot, or on older/slower systems that
do not yet (ever?) have binaries posted.

Here are the reasons for each of the packages I listed:

sudo:
    I would argue that this tool should be forced on every UNIX admin.
    My experience is universal: su encourages people to just keep boxes
    logged in as root, and makes it seem that handing out root passwords
    is ok. Anyone should be allowed to type dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sd0d
    if they really want to, but # prompts on screens is not a matter of
    discretion.

userppp:
    This is really the ifconfig and dhclient of the dialup/pppoe world.
    The first and most basic task in setting up a NetBSD box is to get
    it connected to the Internet. This package makes it possible and
    fast not matter what means are available.

tcsh:
    Nice to have for those who don't like ksh, but really just a nice
    331K perk.

lynx:
    Without a very basic web browser, two computers are usually required
    to do an install at a given location for the simple reason that
    there's no simple way to look up information:
        * FTP/CVS mirrors
        * Documentation for specific platforms
        * Web searches on specific issues
    Yes, once I know where to download something from I can use ftp, but
    only after I know where the URL is. There are also special cases
    that I've encountered, for example, at a hotel or a school district
    where you need to sign into the Internet gateway before you can use
    their Internet connection to finish your business.

perl:
    I'm revoking this one. Perl is too large and complicated, and it's
    not required.

I appreciate the response by everyone on this topic.

Eric