[ale] man man

[James Sumners]

I meant to set whatever environment variables you want set. So, if you
were to set "PAGER=less" in `/etc/skel/.bashrc` then every _new_ user
on the system would have that environment variable set for their own
account. But it would be set in such a way that they could remove it
easily; that is, revert to the distribution's defaults, instead of
yours, by simply editing their `~/.bashrc` file. You could also make
the suggestion, without actually setting it, by adding the following
lines to `/etc/skel/.bashrc` instead:

-----

# I think you would like to less as your pager.
# Give it a shot by uncommenting the next line.
# PAGER=less ; export PAGER

-----

I was suggesting this method in response to the suggestion that system
wide config files in `/etc/` be changed. Doing that would make it more
complicated for the user. The user wouldn't have any hints as to why
his environment is different from what he expected.

On Thu, Jul 22, 2010 at 6:55 PM, Jim Lynch
<ale_nospam at fayettedigital.com> wrote:
> James Sumners wrote:
>> Isn't that what I said?
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 4:19 PM, Jim Lynch
>> <ale_nospam at fayettedigital.com> wrote:
>>
>>> James Sumners wrote:
>>>
>>>> That would be a preferred place for system wide changes. But the more
>>>> versatile method is to let users set their own options. If you would
>>>> like to suggest default options for new users then the appropriate
>>>> place for that would be in the `/etc/skel/` files [1].
>>>>
>>>> [1] -- http://www.linfo.org/etc_skel.html
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Unless, of course, you don't want the change to be global but only
>>> effective for man.   I'd guess that many of the people on this list run
>>> Linux as a single user system or at least have only one person that
>>> cares about keeping the output of man visible.  My wife probably has
>>> never used man, for instance.
>>>
>>> Jim.
>>>
>>
>>
> I'm sorry,  I thought you meant to set the PAGER variable. That would
> affect all programs that used less.  If you mean to put an alias in
> that file, then, sure.
>
> Jim.
>
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-- 
James Sumners
http://james.roomfullofmirrors.com/

"All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts
pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it
is magnetic to the corruptible. Such people have a tendency to become
drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted."

Missionaria Protectiva, Text QIV (decto)
CH:D 59