On Wed, 11 Dec 2002 00:50:05 -0700, G J Feig wrote: <large snip>
> Hold IT..!!!....what we are seeing here is very good technical > support, done in a way that we will regret before we go much further > along with Arachne use/tweaking/development. > Glenn knows how to do this stuff, and he is being exceedingly helpful. > And Klaus and Bastiaan are right, to point out things they think are > not quite right, or that need to be organized better, or made more > consistent....or that they would just LIKE to have included...he he > I've done this myself (y'all haven't yet seen my "personalized core" > that Glenn cranked out for me the other night...<g g g>...)"...but.. > ...but...PEOPLE..!!!!...we can't DO this... Note from Bastiaan: I am not asking for things I like, anyway not in this discussion. I just want of the features that are there... that they perform well. As all Arachne users my version also has a lot of private alterations and supporting external programs... they can be fitted if one has Arachne installed and running. These are not basic needs... like pdf viewing... someone may want Arachne act like MS Word... (not me ;-)) > 1. First, Glenn cannot really keep track of these changes. There > are already so many changes that it's going to take him, and Clarence, > and anyotherchangers days/weeks/months to document these changes, and > organize them together with the Arachne Packages they need to go with. > 2. This is NOW biting us in our collective butts...how do I know...?? > Because...I just got bit by one of Glenn's nifty "thingees" (I mean, > one of his neat little changes that adds some useful functionality). > What bit me..?? Why, Glenns "automagical" pdf2htm conversion script > that he put into the MIME.CFG that is in the 1.71ue01 distribution > package. That thing made it impossible for me to download/save .PDF > files. It just did that to me, tonight...!!! How did it do that...?? > The MOME.CFG script calls PDF2HTM.EXE and I do NOT have it in my > installation...nor is it a standard part of the Arachne Distro... > I am not complaining about the use of PDF2HTM (or the PDF2TXT that is > originally defined in that spot in MIME.CFG)...for sure, I download > ..PDF files for ONE reason only...to CONVERT them...!!!...<g>...BUT.. > the pdf2htm is NOT included with the Arachne Package and, if I were > a newbie and ran into the problem I ran into tonight, I might run > screaming away from Arachne, as my next action in this world....<g g g> IMHO all nice things using external programs must be switched off in the distribution. And a kind of help file added with sugestions for the extra nice things that can be added. WARNING: not for newbies! > 3. BEFORE we dash right out and start including PDF2HTM with the > Arachne package, and other such foolish things, we need to realize > that we are getting tangled up in one set of standard "project-breaker" > "don't do" practices.... > What we are doing is "helter-skelter" program modification without any > kind of change-approval or change-documentation. > SUGGESTIONS: > 1. Temporary moratorium on ANY more changes to the 171ue01 package, > for ANY reason. > 2. Temporary delay the "READY" status that I suggested for 171ue01, > and that may have been more-or-less approved by most listers, and maybe > even by Michael. We need to STOP, right here...and reassess, before > we jump too hasty into releasing a VERY good package....a package that > will make itself look stupid, if we release it right now, before we > organize it a bit more. > 3. We make a tentative "Bug List" of the known, remaining Arachne > bugs. > 4. We make a "Bug Report Template" for submitting bug reports in a > structured, formal way. What we have been doing is our usual (and > correct, proper) reporting of glitches to this List, to see if we > can get confirmation that we have a "bug"...and, then when it gets > confirmed, we fail to do the NEXT step, which is to file a Formal > Bug Report...Michael already has such a Report-Template and we must > either use that, or use another similar template. AND STICK TO IT, > rigorously..!!! We must ALWAYS file one of these FormalBugReports > in order to get anyone to work-on/fix any bug....period...final.. > 5. We start making a list of the known "Add-on Packages" that go > with Arachne (this can be grabbed right off the Arachne download page) > and on this list, we need to note what entries in MIME.CFG, ARACHNE.CFG > or ANYTHING.CFG, etc go with it. > 6. We need a MIME.CFG, with the applicable entries for each individual > package, to be included with each said package, along with instructions > for installing that package/MIME.CFG... Do you mean the removal of all entries in MIME.CFG, all entries not functional in the basic package of Arachne? IMHO that would be wise since the current situation is quite disturbing, even to experienced users. Regards, Bastiaan > 7. We need to think of some other necessary things to do along the > lines of Arachne development, because I am sure that my above thoughts > are (1) somewhat disorganized, and (2) incomplete.. > <g g g g> > .......gregy > -- This mail was sent by a user of Arachne - The Ultimate Internet Client
