Re: Aside, was: mutt - slow mbox'es
* David Champion <dgc@xxxxxxxxxxxx> [07-21-04 17:38]:
> Caution to reader: this post is boring. In fact, having written it, I'm
> going to go entertain myself in some other way.
agreed
> * On 2004.07.21, in <20040721211858.GF5691@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> * "Patrick Shanahan" <wideglide@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > * David Champion <dgc@xxxxxxxxxxxx> [07-21-04 12:57]:
> > > There is no one true mailbox format. Please don't be religious about
> > > it. To do so is to construct someone else's reality.
> >
> > Interesting choice of words. Please expand, ?u?/?i?.
>
> Was "?u?/?i?" a typo? If not, I don't know what it means....
construct vs constrict
> Maybe it clears everything up to clarify what I mean by "reality".
> I don't mean facts in hand. I mean a set of ideas that describe the
> full experience of a particular mutt user -- not only that user's
> observations, but also the circumstances predicating those observations.
> More expansively:
>
> The premise in this statement was that there is no one true mailbox
> format. Since you didn't quote that initially, I assume you are willing
> to take it as a given for the purpose of this discussion.
correct
> In that case, what I mean is that staking such claims as that converting
> from mbox to maildir is "the only reasonable thing" and that "solv[ing]
> the problem... means to move to maildir" are hard-lined opinions that
> don't have a factual foundation, even if they are rooted in some facts
> (as well as some non-factual premises). The tone is what we often call
> "religious".
again agreed
> To make these assertions, or more precisely to believe these assertions,
> is to construct a set of beliefs concerning the user experience
> that mbox performance is less than what is desired. Opinions can
> describe a person's experiences, which we can loosely describe as that
> person's "reality", but typically they describe the experience of the
> opinion-holder, and not necessarily of anyone else, since one person's
> sum experience is not the same as another's. (Perhaps there are genuine
> reasons that using Maildir is quite simply not an option for this user,
> however attractive it might be.)
as, you are building someone else's reality, not constricting it to a
particular tenet
> But this experience belongs to someone else, not to the person who
> posted these assertions. So the opinionated evaluation that converting
> to Maildir is the only rational solution does not necessarily apply.
> This evaluation is founded on a construction whose role is to describe a
> person's experiences, but does not, in fact, do so. The "reality" of
> the OP which suits the "religious" statements was constructed, not
> extant.
so, in essence, one's "reality" is being forced upon him rather than
him being able to build/construct his own opinion. His "outlook" is
being focused in an underlying effort to precict his opinion. Big
Brother has taken charge.
I have no argument with your point that one should not state with
implied certainty that one particular mail directory format is better
than another for *all* instances. I was more interested in the manner
which you chose to describe the situation with construct, as in
building, rather than constrict or restrict as denying wider
possibilities or disallowing building.
Interesting ....
--
Patrick Shanahan Registered Linux User #207535
http://wahoo.no-ip.org @ http://counter.li.org
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