Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!rutgers!uwm.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!winchester!pmm
From: pmm@mips.COM (Paul M. Moriarty)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.elm
Subject: Re: I think I might have found a bug
Keywords: bug
Message-ID: <41246@mips.mips.COM>
Date: 31 Aug 90 18:22:47 GMT
References: <1990Aug30.213125.18159@cs.umn.edu> <1990Aug31.002402.8495@DSI.COM>
Sender: news@mips.COM
Reply-To: pmm@mips.COM (Paul M. Moriarty)
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In article <1990Aug31.002402.8495@DSI.COM> syd@DSI.COM writes:
>iacovou@cs.umn.edu (Danny Iacovou) writes:
>
>>   What I really care about is
>>   that now when a user types the magic letters elm for the first
>>   time and answers yes to the question about making a .elm dir.,
>>   and even though a .elm dir. is made, no elmrc file is put in it.
>That is correct and expected behavoir, an elmrc file is not needed
>unless the defaults are being overridden.  One will be created if the
>options menu is chosen and the options saved.

It may not be a bug, but it certainly is a nuisance.  It would be a lot
nicer if I could just direct a user to his/her elmrc and tell them to
modify to their heart's content rather than first telling them how to
create a default elmrc.  

Why should the program say that the .elm directory is necessary
immediately upon invoking Elm for the first time when it isn't planning
on putting anything in the dir until you either create an alias or save
off your elmrc from the options window?  Seems to me that it shouldn't
prompt you for creating the directory until it is actually needed.

I'd strongly suggest that the default elmrc be written if .elm is being
created or if .elm exists and elmrc doesn't.


-- 
Paul M. Moriarty               pmm@mips.com          {ames,decwrl}!mips!pmm 
Sr Systems Administrator
MIPS Computer Systems, Inc                           +1 408 524 8335