[OT] Re: [PATCH] Magic SysRq key in Dvorak

Feuer (feuer@his.com)
Sun, 11 Oct 1998 23:04:54 -0400

Why does it seem that people involved in Linux use the Dvorak keyboard much much
more than other people?  It's my favorite as well.  Is it pure intelligence, or an
unwillingness to accept a poor solution?

Brion Vibber wrote:

> On Sun, 11 Oct 1998, Martin Mares wrote:
>
> >    Hmmm, it seems to me this really doesn't belong to the kernel. People who
> > are smart enough to be kernel hackers (and if they are not kernel hackers,
> > they should not use SysRq since they don't understand what it means) are also
> > expected to know that it doesn't respect the keymap and to remember the right
> > mapping.
>
> So, kernel hackers are expected to accept unquestioningly what has been
> placed before them? You have disillusioned me, Martin. I thought Linux was
> about freedom - the freedom to use a different key mapping is part of
> that. But apparently there is no freedom here, just more tyranny. I give
> up, I'm going back to Windows where "free software" means borrowing
> someone else's Office 97 CD. :(
>
> Just kidding! :)
>
> Let me ask you something: why have SysRq in the official kernel at all if
> REAL kernel hackers can patch it into their kernels themselves? The
> answer: *convenience*! The Magic SysRq Key is a useful tool for kernel
> hackers, and it's a hell of a lot easier to have it sitting there ready to
> be enabled than to have to patch it into every kernel.
>
> No, a Dvorak keymap for the Magic SysRq Key is not necessary, but it is
> *convenient* for kernel hackers who, like me, use and love the Dvorak
> layout. I'm certainly smart enough to use QWERTY if I have to (after all,
> my keyboard is labeled in QWERTY, even if I forget it I have only to look
> down) but I *prefer* to use Dvorak, just as I *prefer* to have the Magic
> SysRq Key available for my use! Heck, I have to be *smarter* to use the
> Dvorak keys since they're _not_ labeled and I need to remember them!
>
> Certainly SysRq is for kernel hackers only, but that's why it's in the
> "Kernel Hacking" section of the configuration. Or do I misunderstand its
> purpose?
>
> -- brion vibber (brion@pobox.com)
>
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