> - fixing the distribution process to work without rules in the dist
> tarball (since we'll be moving to a model where with distribute
> without rules and they're downloaded by the admin on install).
The longer I think about it, the less convinced I am that it is a good idea.
In environments requiring strict change control or that are otherwise
paranoid in terms of security, (direct) online updates are usually not
desired (or not possible, because eg the firewall concept forbids
mailservers from doing HTTP requests).
Thus actually *requiring* online update would make deployment in such
environments more complex (it would eg require repackaging *with* the
rules prior to deployment).
The same environments would also be rather reluctant to allow direct
online updates without at least some form of sanity check (maybe not only
lint, but also some messages being checked).
Although I'd like to see some clearer structure in how rules and rules
updates (of different sources) are handled, I suggest that some basic
ruleset ("rules du jour at the day of packing a release" or something
similar) be included with the tarball.
-- Matthias
