Neal Gompa (ニール・ゴンパ) Mar 1

Protip: Make sure your username doesn't have spaces regardless of platform (Windows, POSIX-like, or otherwise). While technically valid and some tools can handle it, a lot more can't.

Semi-related: it's really a pain to change the username in Windows.

Show threadJohn BreenMar 1
@neal Semi-semi-related : Whoever thought it was a good idea to put spaces in paths and filenames needs their own special circle of Dante's hell.
Show threadNeal Gompa (ニール・ゴンパ) Mar 1

@jab01701mid I'm going to be the bad guy and say the fact that UNIX tools haven't adapted to LFNs properly in over fifty years is terrible. Normal people want natural file names (and even technical people like myself do too).

It's a massive failing that Linux has not adapted to make natural language name conventions easier to use.

Show threadJohn BreenMar 1

@neal You are a really bad guy. You probably support TAB spaces in user names and filenames.

There should no more be SPACE characters in strings than NULL characters. Oh, and there are "CountedString" people who support NULL characters in strings. Fuck that.

People can learn rules, they are there to keep you safe. No SPACE or NULL (or NUL) in filename strings, or user names, ever, anywhere.

Show threadNeal Gompa (ニール・ゴンパ) Mar 1
@jab01701mid I'm saying that tools are supposed to adapt to users, not the other way around.
Show threadJohn BreenMar 1

@neal Then tell my hammer and screwdriver that. Software tools are no different. They are crafted by people who design tools, and if done right they keep you from doing stupid things with them.

Nobody who makes a hammer thinks "let's accommodate the people who want to hold it from the other end".

Show threadNeal Gompa (ニール・ゴンパ) Mar 1
@jab01701mid That's how multi-function tools became a thing, though. Multi-bit screwdrivers, modular heads, etc. allow those things.
Show threadJohn BreenMar 1
@neal So I think there is a loop where tool-builders improve the design of common tools like screwdrivers and electric drills, adding accessories and specializations. Printers go from 2D to 3D.
But that's different from responding to "what people with non-technical skills want to do".
Sometimes, as Steve Jobs was good at sometimes, you have to build the right tool, even if people are not asking for it right now.
Show threadJohn BreenMar 1
@neal Anyway, spaces in file paths is a really bad idea, no matter who wants it. It's like somebody who feels like p.u.t.t.i.n.g. a.p.e.r.i.o.d.b.e.t.w.e.e.n.e.v.e.r.y.l.e.t.t.e.r
Show threadJohn Breen
@neal People are smart. They understand language, punctuation, and characters which break up a word, like hyphens and underscores.
Those are not "blank space".
Blank space means a word-break.
Just because somebody wants to write "My Pictures" does not mean that they can't understand this will lead to a hellscape of pathnames, and they learned that in elementary school. I did.
#EndOfRant
(No spaces in hashtags, are there ?)
Mar 1 at 4:53pmWeb