Hello, I am a Debian user, and found today that a program called “xdg-user-dirs” had created, without my approval, the following empty folders in my home directory:
* “Vorlagen”, * “Öffentlich”, * “Musik”, * “Bilder”, and * “Videos”. These folders, and the following *already existing* folders * “Desktop”, * “Downloads”, and * “Dokumente” were also listed under “~/.config/user-dirs.dirs”. I don’t know when this has happened, maybe weeks or months ago, but today I’ve noticed it. I am very unhappy with this situation, because I did not actively chose to install “xdg-user-dirs”. I don’t know why it was installed at all, as none of the packages I use depend on it. Of course, I’ve deinstalled the program and removed the created foldes and files, but there remains a bitter feeling that I cannot trust my computer anymore, if such things happen. As a user, I expect my computer to do what I tell him, and not to surprise me with things I never expected. I think it would be good style if “xdg-user-dirs” could identify itself to the user and ask him for approval, e.g. with a dialog box like “xdg-user-dirs / The following folders will be crated: … [OK] [Cancel]”. I noticed the changes only by accident, maybe weeks after they were done, and I had to google to find out what program caused it. The second thing I’m unhappy about is that there seems to be no documentation at all about “xdg-user-dirs”. What are these folders intended for? Do I need a folder “Öffentlich” because future programs will expect it? If so, what will these programs expect there? And what will they store there? What is the idea behind the folder “Musik”? I use “Downloads/Musik” for downloaded music and “Dokumente/Musik” for my own works. The thing that makes me *very angry* is that “xdg-user-dirs” repurposes preexisting folders without notifying me. “Dokumente” is the folder where I store all the files I am personally involved with. For me, this folder has the highest importance, and no one has the right to touch this folder except me! Especially I don’t want programs to expect it to be the trash hole for arbitrary “documents” of all kind. If future programs need a “Dokumente” folder in order to work, that’s fine. But then, please let me rename my old “Dokumente” folder first. Kind regards, Thomas _______________________________________________ xdg mailing list [email protected] http://lists.freedesktop.org/mailman/listinfo/xdg
