Re: LYNX-DEV LYNX reads "off" from .lynxrc set_cursor=on

[David Combs]

But there is also the "principle of minimal surprise".

Usually (in unix tools, anyway) such toggle reverses what
is set as default by a PROGRAM, which default is DOCUMENTED
in the man page.

The current case is different: it reverses not what is
set by a PROGRAM (and that setting documented); rather, it
reverses what is set in one or several RUN-TIME READABLE FILES.

That makes all the difference in the world, at least to me.

> From address@hidden Thu Feb 19 18:56:34 1998
> Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 18:14:31 -0800 (PST)
> From: Doug Kaufman <address@hidden>
> To: address@hidden
> 
> On Fri, 20 Feb 1998, Nelson Henry Eric wrote (quoting others):
> 
> > > > I have show_cursor=on in my .lynxrc file, as you
> > [...]
> > > > I also explicitly set -show_cursor on the command-line:
> 
> I hesitate to get into this discussion, but I think that the current
> behavior is just fine, and in accord with the documentation.
> "-show_cursor" is listed as a TOGGLE.  Toggles are common, used in many
> programs.  What I would suggest is a clear statement in the user guide
> that a "toggle" changes any setting to what is NOT the default.  The
> lynx.rc file and lynx.cfg file are there so you don't have to specify
> multiple command line options every time the program is run. It seems
> that a lot of this discussion is really about making the program
> designed to be fault-tolerant for misreading the documentation.  This is
> a laudable goal, but not easily implemented.
>                               Doug