XDG_CONFIG_DIRS an /usr/local/etc/xdg

[Elsie Hupp]

Mr. White,

You write:

> Be that as it may, one should not have to resort to such rather extreme measures just to get sane behaviour back. And please stop drumming for Flatpak. It does have its application but not for this. I mean, come on, more layers of complexity just for this. Plus all the downsides I do not want to discuss here, since they are out of scope

Flatpak is a major—and standards-compliant—implementation of XDG_CONFIG_DIRS, alongside GNOME, KDE, etc. And you haven’t actually specified what your use case is; you’ve been consistently vague in a way that allows your text to maintain an unearned tone of righteousness and moral superiority.

You write:

> Yes, that is very much intentional, those are not “soft-wrap” but real line breaks. You should read up on mailing list netiquette if this is news to you. Yes, there is an RFC for that, and please don’t go “fixing” my text.

As far as I know RFC 1855 is not part of any accepted email specification—i.e. the ones actually used by the more popular email clients—and several of the behaviors encouraged in it lead to undefined behavior on adaptive devices that did not exist in 1995, such as smartphones.

Intentionally using formatting that breaks on the vast majority of computing devices in use is not “good etiquette”; this behavior is pedantic, condescending, and passive-aggressive, all attributes that directly violate the Freedesktop Community Standards, which are a much more important document than your dusty cultural artifact:

> Examples of behavior that contributes to creating a positive environment include:
> 
> 	• Using welcoming and inclusive language
> 	• Being respectful of differing viewpoints and experiences
> 	• Gracefully accepting constructive criticism
> 	• Focusing on what is best for the community
> 	• Showing empathy towards other community members


If you dislike that the vast majority of the internet has moved on to adaptive text rendering, I suggest you file an RFC about it, or perhaps chain yourself to the front of the Google headquarters. Or, I don’t know, you could use an email client with more normative text rendering? I assume they do, in fact, make ones that work on dialup ANSI terminals.

Oh the irony that you’ve expended reams of text complaining about how you don’t like the long-standing XDG folder specification that everyone else seems to accept, right before you turn around and point to an obscure chain letter from the Clinton administration as if it were some sort of inviolable scripture.

I’m CCing the conduct committee as a way of *gently encouraging you* to approach this forum in a modicum of good faith.

Note: this is all good-faith, constructive criticism of your behavior, not your character. As such I’m sure it should be no great difficulty for you to take it to heart.

Sincerely,
Elsie Hupp