cvs commit: src/usr.bin/fetch fetch.1

[Wes Peters]

On Monday 26 January 2004 07:05 am, Eivind Eklund wrote:
> On Sat, Jan 24, 2004 at 11:27:34AM +0200, Diomidis Spinellis wrote:
> > Let us not forget that the Unix manual pages provide reference
> > material; they are not a user guide.  They historically have been
> > terse, to the point, and honest in admitting shortcomings (bugs). 
> > While a user might find it helpful to read the environment variable
> > documentation in fetch(1), the correct thing to do in reference
> > material is to document the variables where they are implemented,
> > namely fetch(3), and provide a cross reference.
>
> My feeling about this is that we are giving our users a lot of
> inconvenience in the search for some kind of "idelogical purity" (in
> the form of consistency), where the purity does not buy us much. 
> Purity should not be a goal in and of itself.  Purity is a tool for
> making the system as a whole easier to deal with - a powerful,
> important and good tool, but a tool.
>
> I've had repeated cases of support on these variables because users do
> not find them.  I agree with DES about duplication - I just think that
> the variables should be documented in fetch.1 instead of fetch.3.

I agree with  you in general, Eivind.  Have you had a change to read the 
change I committed?  It reads:

All environment variables mentioned in the documentation for the fetch(3)
library are supported.  A number of these are quite important to the
proper operation of fetch; you are strongly encouraged to read fetch(3)
as well.

I hope this is strong enough "encouragement" for them to read the 
definitive source.

-- 

        Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?

Wes Peters                                               wes at softweyr.com