If the "correct" mechanism isn't documented, then established practise should be followed. In this case, it's to allow the essid to be set before the interface is brought up. An analogy might be drawn with ifconfig settings - userspace can set the IP address and netmask without bringing the interface up.
-- Unable to connect to Internet - "link is not ready" https://launchpad.net/bugs/63664 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list [email protected] https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
