On Sat, Jan 8, 2011 at 1:38 AM, David Cantrell <da...@cantrell.org.uk> wrote: >> If they are simple connection tests, that I would think you should be >> fine. Any complex then running under AUTOMATED_TESTING is reasonable, >> and prompting (default to No) otherwise. > > Perhaps do a simple check for connectivity and have it skip the more > complex tests if that doesn't work. Naturally, you should do the > connectivity test using raw Socket.pm so as not to introduce any > dependencies :-)
I think it would be better to avoid any network activity without the consent of the person running it. There are places where such activity will trigger an alarm. The agreement of the user can be setting AUTOMATED_TESTING or some other environment variable (e.g. the API key of some web application) or just answering yes to a question during the installation process. Gabor
