Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2009 14:18:35 -0500 From: Bill Moran <wmoran@potentialtech.com> To: ports@freebsd.org Subject: A plea or sanity in port options menu Message-ID: <20090202141835.b44d09be.wmoran@potentialtech.com>
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I don't believe this is particularly useful:
Options for port-fu
[ ] BRG Enable BRG support
[X] QFZ Enable QFZ support
Quite honestly, if you can't figure out that checking the box next to
BRG enables BRG support, then don't use a computer.
However, if you don't already know what BRG _is_, then those menus are
worthless gobbly-gook. So, you've held my hand long enough to teach
me that putting an X in a box enables something, but you've given me
absolutely NO idea what I've actually done.
How about:
Options for port-fu
[ ] BRG Bernstein Riggs Guillotine parsing
[X] QFZ Quantum Freeze Zulu rending
At least that one gives me _some_ idea what those TLAs mean.
This is so common in the ports infrastructure, that I'm sure a bazillion
maintainers are going to scream at me for complaining about it. After
all, _everyone_ else does the same thing.
But it's completely worthless to have the description simply repeat
what the tag is. It's also really bad UI design. Quite honestly, it
makes me wonder if the port creator was even awake when they typed up
the Makefile.
Please, please, please stop this. I'm floored by the pervasiveness of
this insanity, and there's absolutely no reason for it to continue.
--
Bill Moran
http://www.potentialtech.com
http://people.collaborativefusion.com/~wmoran/
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