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Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:18:13 +0000 (GMT)
From: "G.W. Haywood" <ged AT jubileegroup DOT co DOT uk>
To: "Cygwin mailing list." <cygwin AT cygwin DOT com>
Subject: Re: missing setup command line arguments in the FAQ.
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Hello again,

On Mon, 18 Jan 2010 several of us wrote:

> > 73,
> > Ged.
>
> Now I'm confused.  Is that your high-score, your shoe size, or your age?

It's a relic from the days of morse code; just over my weight, and
half my IQ; and uncomfortably close to my age.

> BTW, if you run "setup.exe --help", it will (depending on OS
> version) either display the usage instructions to the screen, or
> dump them to a setup.log file in the directory where you run it.

That's not correct (*):

laptop:~$ >>> ./setup.exe
-bash: ./setup.exe: cannot execute binary file

> ... cgf was hinting that you already had everything you needed ...

One of his premises was false.

> Actually, I was suggesting that one could just *try it*.
> ...
> The supposition was, apparently, that spurious descriptions of
> nonexistent options must have crept into the documentation so the
> only real way to figure out what works is to actually run the program.

Interesting - the thought that spurious descriptions of nonexistent
options could creep into the documentation.  Is that something that
happens a lot?  It never crossed my mind.  Although it _did_ cross my
mind that the unattended install option didn't work right (e.g. hosed
installation at a customer's site just before they do the payroll run,
invoices going missing, you know, the kinds of things we worry about).
It also crossed my mind that the not-working-right part somehow might
not have made it to the docs in place of the it-can't-be-done part...

Mr. Faylor, please accept my apologies.  I really shouldn't prey on
the fallibilities of other people.  Heaven knows I have enough of my
own.  I knew when writing my question that I was probably going to be
treated to one of your, er, no-brainers, and my response to that was
calculated to make you look foolish:

Yes, one could just *try it*, if he had a Windows machine on which to
try it.  But I don't own any Windows boxes, which is why I was reduced
to asking a question on this list.  Now wouldn't it have been easier,
and wouldn't it have wasted a lot less bandwidth, if you'd politely
answered the question instead of trying to hump me?

I've been reading the cygwin list for quite a while.  I can say for
most other lists that it's a pleasant experience, for one or two that
it's neither pleasant nor unpleasant, but for only one that it's almost
always an unpleasant experience.  That one is the cygwin users list.

When it's an unpleasant experience I'll usually just unsubscribe, but
in the case of the cygwin list the urge to become more familiar with
the subject outweighs the unpleasantness, and until now I've simply
put up with it.

One individual is directly responsible for the unpleasantness.

I wasn't joking about the professional help.  There's clearly some
deep seated need there to dominate people.  Unfortunately it won't
work with everyone.

(*) Sorry again, Dave, but it's not you I'm getting at. :)

--

73,
Ged.

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