NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #20/NN_1992_20.iso/spool/comp/unix/question/11105

Text File | 1992-09-15 | 2.5 KB | 52 lines

Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Path: sparky!uunet!cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!news.acns.nwu.edu!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!navarra
From: [e-mail] (John Navarra)
Subject: Re: user command to recover deleted file ?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail] (Usenet on news.acns)
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois.
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 21:43:10 GMT
Lines: 40

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Tim Pierce) writes:
>
>You're saying two different things.  One is that new users shouldn't
>be given altered commands, and the second is that it's all right to
>pamper people.

    I was saying that I agree that new users should not be placed
in an environment where standard UNIX commands operate differently unless
the difference is COMPLETELY invisible to the user. However, I also said
that once you know how the command should work, UNIX philosophy dictates
that you should have the opportunity to be 'pampered' whether you do it
or rely on the system administrator. I disagree with the statement that
no one should use an aliased rm command, function, or program (or a
program which operates like rm but is named differently) solely because
it is non-standard and that user may f*ck up when he finds himself on
a different machine.


>Wouldn't.  It would call for non-over-reliance on utilities which are
>not available on a majority of Unix platforms, and whose sudden
>disappearance can be disastrous for the unexpecting user.
>
    Using your gun analogy -- just because you didn't know the
gun was loaded doesn't mean you are innocent. In other words (and
in this case I am speaking from the standpoint of experienced users),
if you screw up because you don't know how something works, it was your
fault for not checking beforehand; *especially* if you are expecting
a standard utility to work non-standardly! Obviously, new users should
not be put under this strain. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't rely
on utilities which are non-standard. I rely on them all the time!


-tms


--
You can get further with a kind word | You can get further with a kind word
and a gun than a kind word alone.    | and a phaser than a kind word and a gun.
          --al capone                |           -- John Navarra
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