Unhappy with xdg-user-dirs

["Thomas U. Grüttmüller"]

Hello,

I am a Debian user, and found today that a program called
“xdg-user-dirs” had created, without my approval, the following empty
folders in my home directory:

* “Vorlagen”,
* “Öffentlich”,
* “Musik”,
* “Bilder”, and
* “Videos”.

These folders, and the following *already existing* folders

* “Desktop”,
* “Downloads”, and
* “Dokumente”

were also listed under “~/.config/user-dirs.dirs”. I don’t know when
this has happened, maybe weeks or months ago, but today I’ve noticed it.

I am very unhappy with this situation, because I did not actively chose
to install “xdg-user-dirs”. I don’t know why it was installed at all, as
none of the packages I use depend on it. Of course, I’ve deinstalled the
program and removed the created foldes and files, but there remains a
bitter feeling that I cannot trust my computer anymore, if such things
happen. As a user, I expect my computer to do what I tell him, and not
to surprise me with things I never expected.

I think it would be good style if “xdg-user-dirs” could identify itself
to the user and ask him for approval, e.g. with a dialog box like
“xdg-user-dirs / The following folders will be crated: … [OK] [Cancel]”.
I noticed the changes only by accident, maybe weeks after
they were done, and I had to google to find out what program caused it.

The second thing I’m unhappy about is that there seems to be no
documentation at all about “xdg-user-dirs”. What are these folders
intended for? Do I need a folder “Öffentlich” because future programs
will expect it? If so, what will these programs expect there? And what
will they store there? What is the idea behind the folder “Musik”? I use
“Downloads/Musik” for downloaded music and “Dokumente/Musik” for my own
works.

The thing that makes me *very angry* is that “xdg-user-dirs” repurposes
preexisting folders without notifying me. “Dokumente” is the folder
where I store all the files I am personally involved with. For me, this
folder has the highest importance, and no one has the right to touch
this folder except me! Especially I don’t want programs to expect it to
be the trash hole for arbitrary “documents” of all kind. If future
programs need a “Dokumente” folder in order to work, that’s fine. But
then, please let me rename my old “Dokumente” folder first.

Kind regards,
  Thomas