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=== Our Tenets === === Tenets ===

CleanMe

Tenets

  • Recognizing that both [http://www.gnome.org GNOME] and [http://www.kde.org KDE] exist, we will support the use of both, and make sure they work well on Debian.

  • We recognize that there are only two important classes of users: the novice, and the expert. We will do everything we can to make things very easy for the novice, while allowing the expert to tweak things if they like.
  • In line with our motto, we will work to support and improve all software which eases the burden of configuration required by the end user. This means we will integrate software such as discover (http://packages.debian.org/discover) into the Debian installation process and the running Debian system. We will make sure that configuring ["XFree86"] (http://packages.debian.org/x-window-system) is as easy and foolproof as possible.

  • We will try to ensure that software is configured for the most common desktop use. For instance, the regular user account added by default during installation should have permission to play audio and video, print, and manage the system through sudo.
  • We will integrate an easy-to-use system management utility into the standard Debian installation. There are several choices in this area; [http://www.webmin.com webmin] (http://packages.debian.org/webmin) and Ximian Setup Tools (a.k.a. GNOME System Tools)(http://packages.debian.org/ximian-setup-tools) look the most promising. There is also the [http://magiconf.sheflug.co.uk/ ?MagiConf] project.

  • We will try to ensure that questions which are asked of the user (which should be kept to a minimum) make sense even with a minimum of computer knowledge. Many Debian packages today present the user with difficult technical details. For example, if you simply select the "desktop environment" and "development environment" tasks during a woody installation, the first thing you will be presented with after all the packages are downloaded is a debconf prompt from binutils (http://packages.debian.org/binutils) about "kernel link failure info". To the novice, this kind of thing is confusing and frightening. To the expert, this is annoying and unnecessary. Right after this question is one from [http://www.greenwoodsoftware.com/less/ less] (http://packages.debian.org/less) which asks something about a MIME handler. A novice doesn't even know what MIME is. An expert can configure less however they like it after the installation is complete. The priority of these kinds of Debconf questions should be at least lowered. (Happily, many of these issues are already fixed for the sarge release using debian-installer, which will make the default debconf priority be "high").

  • And we will have fun doing all of it!

<!-- Content taken from the Debian Desktop Subproject. Originally written by Colin Walters. Placed here by Matthew ?McGuire 11-11-02 -->


"We recognize that there are only two important classes of users: the novice, and the expert" Thats sad. What about expert users that wants to get things done without learning the syntax of yet another configuration file?

Learning how to use ipfwadm was fun, because it taught me much about the Linux firewall implementation. Lerning ipchains was not fun, but not hard since I knew ipfwadm. I have never tried to learn iptables options. Why should I waste time on yet another implementation when firewall builder has such a great gui?

2003/03/24 14:33 UTC (via web):


Proposals

  • Documentation about the principles applied in the Debian GNU/Linux Operating System should be installed by default, but in the language of the users (e.g things like http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/)

  • The good OS is the one that can fit to everybody's needs. Automatic kernel configuration and patch application on a "For what kind of tasks do you intend to use this computer" questions basis could be great.
  • For the expert : simplifying and improving help informations and module names in the "kernel module configuration" part of the installation could be great.

Michel Nolard