LYNX-DEV One post, many things.

[Subir Grewal]

I wanted to tell Gregory why I don't have the "current", i.e. 
developmental codeset's, lynx.cfg on Lynx links.  When I began mirroring
the about_lynx & lynx_help files from Lynx-2.4.2FM my originl intent was
to make them available so users could get a quick look at all the new
functionality that was being addded to Lynx.  I still think that's a good
idea and intend keeping the latest help and about files on Lynx links.  I
don't, however, think other files from the developmental code are
appropriate at Lynx links.  lynx.cfg and userdefs.h are provided for the
latest release version (currently 2.6) along with a bunch of other
documentation.  Someone who has a Lynx 2.6 binary should not be using a
2.6FM lynx.cfg (the new configurable options wouldn't do them any good
anyway), if they're eager to upgrade, they should get the source
distribution and compile a new binary, in the process of installing it
they should update their lynx.cfg.  When someone pulls down a binary from
the LYBIDO pages, they are also urged to get the zip that contains all the
docs for the binary they're downloading (which includes the appropriate
help-files, the appropriate lynx.cfg, etc.) 

I personally don't think links should be numbered by default.  The
behaviour is quite easy to change, and reasonably
well-documented/well-known.  I find that it makes reading a document
difficult for me (I do realize of course, that speech users have the
opposite experience; but I'm under the impression that most learn how to
turn on numbered links quickly).

I also agree with Fote's general caveat, that users should be encouraged
to find out about the software they're using and learn to use it more
effectively by customizing it for, and learning to help, themselves.  To
an extent this is a serendipitous experience, necessarily so because each
person has individual preferences, (and I don't know whether dividing
users into groups would be useful for us) often preferences they
themselves are unaware of. 

In preparation for the impending release of Lynx 2.7, I'd like to get some
feedback on how we should be co-ordinating the distribution of binaries. 
I would be more than glad to recieve Lynx 2.7 binaries and put them up
here at <URL:http://www.crl.com/~subir/lynx/bin/>.  I will of course also
be putting together a distribution of the 2.7 documents as well (so people
using the binaries supplied would download two files, the binary itself
and the docs for 2.7). However, I'd like to know who would be contributing
binaries and which sites will be mirroring the 2.7 LYBIDO. 

Would people who intend conributing binaries for a particular platform
please send me mail so I can set up a list.  Similarly, those who have
ftp/web space to mirror the LYBIDO should contact me as well.

I personally find that compiling with the stock userdefs.h is a good idea
(because it has sensible defaults), and I think this is what we should be
doing for the binaries we distribute.  But I'm open to comments of course.

Meanwhile, I'm off surfing (after a long time), to see if I can find any
bugs in the pre-release. 

address@hidden  +  Lynx 2.6  +  PGP  +  http://www.crl.com/~subir/
I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us
with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.
                -- Galileo Galilei

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