Re: [tlug] disk configuration: drive mounting

[Jonathan Q <jq@example.com>]

Matt Doughty (mdoughty@example.com) wrote:

> Well, I think he said it had been solid for fstab, but that isn't really
> the point now is it? As you noted before the dangers are endless:

Right you are, my mis-read.  Thanks for catching that.

> and if you kill your system using webmin don't come back look for sympathy
> or help because you will find none here.

Help, probably.  Sympathy, not likely.  Willfully self-inflicted wounds usually
gather little sympathy in these parts.

Graphical configuration utilities that always do what they are supposed
to do aren't totally evil but the problem with many of them is,
as you note, that they let you configure stuff that you can't
fix by hand if need be.

In the case of NT and it's follow-ons, one can at least say in its
defense that the graphical configuration utilities do what they
are supposed to, and what they say they do.  The problem with them
is that they keep you in the dark about what they do, and worse,
about the implication of your actions.  That's why there are so
many Exchange servers that are open relays (well, one reason.  The
fact that most versions of Exchange are open by default is another).

That isn't to single out MS in particular, since it's in the
nature of graphical config tools to let you do things you
don't understand.   MS can be blamed, however, for having a
configuration system that is really, really hard to fix by
hand if you bork it graphically.

 I don't really care whether people who know
what they are doing use graphical tools or not, b/c as long
as the tool itself isn't broken, a person who knows what s/he
is doing will get it right.  These people usually don't use
graphical tools, though, having found that if you know what you're
doing, it's easier to do it by hand than by PCD.  This gives rise
to the situation where the only people who are using graphical config
tools are the ones who should be avoiding them like the plague - 
beginners.

I think we would find a strong consensus among all experienced *nix
users here that if you are a beginner, it is not only best practice
but absolutely imperative that you stay away from GUI tools and
learn to do things by editing your config files directly. 

Jonathan