Fwd: Re: [LBo] Permanent /home partition

[Brian Reichert]

* Randy Kramer <rhkramer at gmail.com> [2006-06-08 11:23:50-0400]
> Thanks for taking the time to reply so carefully.
> 
> My first general response is:
> 
> How would you like it to be, say 100 years from now?

Well, 100 years is a very long time in technology years.  However, for the
foreseeable future I can see no real need for this particular thing to change.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not against change if it is for the over all better but
feel strongly that this isn't one of those things that is worth it.
The raw simplicity of a central location for all your things is more than
fit for the purpose of 99% of the *nix using population in my opinion.

> How hard is it to start making the change?  
> 
> Pretty simple: 
> 
>    * You get a few people (FHS and LSB) to make the change a goal.
> 
>    * As new applications are written, or old ones are maintained, they are 
> written to support the new approach (look first in /data/<user> 
> (or /<config>/user)--if the necessary files are not found there (or if the 
> directories don't exist) fall back to looking in /home/<user>.

Sure, this /could/ be done.  But, once again, how many /really/ want this?  Are
we adding extra complexity to a system that is already time tested, works, and
works darn well as it is?
 
The reason *nix systems have the stability that they do is that they stay true
to their roots and make changes only under /very/ careful thought and
consideration.  Changes need to not be made lightly.  We need to be very
careful that we not think our needs are the needs of the majority.  And, in this
case, I feel confident that the reasons stated for splitting the home directory
only apply to you Randy, and a small handful of others.

All in all, I think going to the extent of modifying the FHS or any other
standard to meet such a small percentage of users needs while potentially
causing problems for the majority who do not have the need is way, way
overkill.  Especially when a simple script can take care of splitting the
backup.  And if a script isn't an option just make a data directory off your
home and put your data there while leaving your config in the root of home.
BOOM!  Instant separation of data from config.

And, to address the sharing of multiple distros concept, while it sounds like
an interesting idea, I still don't understand why you would want to share
between each distro?  What advantage exists to having your live data available
to each?  If the purpose of running multiple distributions is to simply explore
other distros then I'd say the sharing of live data is a bad idea.  Exposing
your live data to a test environment is simply asking for trouble.
Really, I can't see any need to run multiple distros at all except for testing
and learning.  As once you decide on a distribution you like it's generally
best to stick with it until it no longer meets your needs.

Changing the FHS for this is the equivalent of using an elephant gun to
hunt for squirrels.  Let's keep our eyes open for other solutions.

Also, let us keep in mind that the FHS is more of a suggestion than a hard fast
rule.  If a strong enough need exists then a distribution that does just this
could be created.  The fact that such a feature doesn't exist yet (AFIAK) is
probably a testament to the low need for splitting off /home.

Wow, I'm long winded! ;)

-- Brian Reichert
http://rignesnet.tzo.com

I can't understand it.  I can't even understand the people who can
understand it.
		-- Queen Juliana of the Netherlands.
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