Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!philmtl!philabs!nbc1!scott
From: scott@nbc1.ge.com (Scott Barman)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Stupid man pages
Message-ID: <1990Jun8.162656.14993@nbc1.ge.com>
Date: 8 Jun 90 16:26:56 GMT
References: <2281@ariel.unm.edu> <1831@pyrltd.UUCP> <618@modus.sublink.ORG> <1990Apr22.083636.9250@lsuc.on.ca> <8591@goofy.Apple.COM>
Reply-To: scott@nbc1.UUCP (Scott Barman)
Organization: National Broadcasting Company, Inc., New York
Lines: 46

In article <8591@goofy.Apple.COM> escher@Apple.COM (Michael Crawford) writes:
>System 5.2 tee(1) says:
>
>NAME
>	tee - pipe fitting
>
>but SunOS 4.0.3 says:
>
>NAME
>     tee - replicate the standard output
>
>I am divided on the issue of professionalization of manual pages.  I do
>support it in the case that it makes manual pages clearer.  An
>unsophisticated user perusing the man pages might be a little mystified
>why a plumbing device was documented in the Unix Manual.

The System V definition of tee is historical.  It was intended to be a
"pipe fitting" condering what its function is.

What you have to understand is that those wonderful folks at Sun have
systematically gone through and changed not only the traditional
descriptions on the man pages (like the above), but also those
wonderful error messages that has lived in Unix lore since many of us
got our hands on V7 (see the error messages from make(1) for a prime
example of this--on SunOS >4.0 type "make war" and watch what it
says!).

In addition to error message, Sun continues to move things around to
the point they it is getting real annoying.  Like /usr/spool being a
symlink to /var/spool?  Why not just keep /usr/spool as it has always
been?  Another one would be to load SunOS 4.* and cd to /usr/lib/uucp
and not find everything there because THEY decided the configuration
stuff belongs in /etc/uucp after it has live in /usr/lib/uucp for all
these

I apologize to those not interested in a flame against Sun, but as a
user (and shareholder) I am very annoyed at these seemingly minor
changes that build up into one big horror!!!

Hey Sun: if it ain't broke DON'T FIX IT!!!!!!

-- 
scott barman				NBC Systems Development
scott@nbc1.ge.com			30 Rockerfeller Plaza, Room 1615W
{philabs,crdgw1}!nbc1!scott		New York, NY  10112	+1 212/664-2787
(This does not represent any [un]official opinions of NBC or their affiliates)