Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!ut-sally!husc6!mit-eddie!shap From: shap@ucbvax.berkeley.edu@sfdww.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.emacs Subject: Backup files and auto-deletion Message-ID: <8701061644.AA01017@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> Date: Tue, 6-Jan-87 11:44:28 EST Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8701061644.AA01017 Posted: Tue Jan 6 11:44:28 1987 Date-Received: Tue, 6-Jan-87 22:41:30 EST Sender: nessus@mit-eddie.MIT.EDU Lines: 21 What no one seems to have pointed out is that the super users are doing this in response to a real problem. While some emacs users are expert enough to make proper use of the backup facility, new users are not, and the resultant disk space crunches are real and severe. This is what is prompting super-users to do this. Since most users of emacs are non-expert, I propose changing the default behavior of backups to make *one* backup. This backup should have a name distinct from the naming convention of the long term "expert" backups so that super-users can delete old ones to manage their disks. In short, we need two backup flavors. By and large, the superusers aren't out to get people, but they have a real problem, and rms has as usual gone off half-cocked blasting them to hell for incompetence. Richard, I get sick of that and so does everyone else, and it doesn't help your product any. When will you learn that a product doesn't stand on merit - it stands on marketing first, then merit? Not everyone has infinite diskspace on which to hold infinite backups, nor infinite time to solicit individual input on what to delete. Jon Shapiro