"Chatty" config files in /etc

[Dmitry Pryanishnikov]

Hello!

On Thu, 31 Aug 2006, Helge Oldach wrote:
>>> 127.0.0.1	localhost
>>> ::1		localhost
>>
>> Noting the RFC 1918 addresses in the default /etc/hosts is *very* useful.
>> If we (part of the Inetnet community) wants to encourage proper IP use,
>> we shouldn't hide this information in an obscure, seldom (?never?)
>> visited directory.
>
> And so is noting actual IP address(es) and host name(s) in /etc/hosts,
> to overcome lack of network connectivity or reachability of a proper DNS
> server during boot. Specifically if the server in question *is* the name
> server.
>
> Actually, /etc/hosts is very likely touched by the sysadmin on most
> machines. Definitely on all that I take care of.

   That's exactly why I vote for removal of the most comments from this file.
This file is for defining IP <- hostname mapping, NOT for teaching sysadmins
how to manage IP address allocations. I remove these useless comments 
on every our host, and mergemaster keeps showing me them on every upgrade.
Also I vote for removal of the useless "Example entries" section in
/etc/login.conf as well as examples in /etc/namedb/named.conf. People should
get a good habit of reading documentation (e.g. manpages) instead of grabbing
random pieces of knowlege from sample configs.

Sincerely, Dmitry
-- 
Atlantis ISP, System Administrator
e-mail:  dmitry at atlantis.dp.ua
nic-hdl: LYNX-RIPE