Quoting Simo (2013-11-04 15:13:47) > On Mon, 2013-11-04 at 10:27 +0100, Jonas Smedegaard wrote: > > Quoting Simo (2013-11-04 03:46:56) > > > On Sun, 2013-11-03 at 18:54 +0100, Jonas Smedegaard wrote: > > > > Debian packages generally store site-wide configuration as files > > > > below /etc. That means the maintainers of packages ensure that > > > > configurations work and can be smoothly upgraded across releases > > > > of those packages. > > > > > > > > It is technically possible to avoid coordinating needs for > > > > customization of configuration with package maintainers, by > > > > using another registry than files below /etc - e.g. by use of > > > > the LDAP registry. > > > > > > > > That's bad! Debian packages is all about maintenance. > > > > Sidestepping that is sidestepping the reliability of Debian. > > > > > > To be honest I do not have that great faith about maintenance of > > > Debian packages, especially across releases. In my limited use > > > I've had way too many breakages of service due to Debian's > > > "helpful" policy of meddling in package configuration. The last > > > horror story was an upgrade of a system with dovecot, I was so > > > upset I nuked Debian and went back to CentOS. > > > > So you suggest to start a project similar to FreedomBox, based on > > Centos? > > No. > > > Or what is your point? > > > My point is that when(!) we choose to rely on Debian, we should do > > so also for configuration handling. > > My point is that you need your own configuration handling if you hope > to have anything that a non-expert can use. The DEbian configuration > management is little more than continuously prompting an expert admin > on what to do when there are configuration file changes, that's not > configuration management at all, that's just deferring to an expert > admin. And I hope the target audience is a little bit broader than > that. > > That means having a overall package that drags in the right > dependencies and simplifies configuration decisions by abstracting > away the details of low level service configuration into an interface > manageable by common users, where the hard choices are predetermined.
Thanks for clarifying. I strongly disagree: I find Debian configuration infrastructure perfectly capable of supporting both technical and non-technical users. Not all Debian packages currently make good use of the infrastructure available - but that needs fixing, instead of sidestepping with another layer of configuration handling: That requires maintenance - it will bitrot and fail! - Jonas -- * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist & Internet-arkitekt * Tlf.: +45 40843136 Website: http://dr.jones.dk/ [x] quote me freely [ ] ask before reusing [ ] keep private
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