[Yum] first pass at newbie doc

[Michael Stenner]

On Mon, Sep 22, 2003 at 12:37:46PM -0400, Robert P. J. Day wrote:
> (is it worth suggesting turning off the yum daemon for the
> time being until one gets more familiar with running it
> manually?)

I saw someone (maybe you) mention something like this earlier and
refrained from comment.  Firstly, and not my main point, it's not
really a daemon.  It's just a cron job.

Now, my main point: I think it is in general a BAD BAD BAD idea to
give the impression that running yum from cron is something that
experienced admins should do and beginners should be wary of.
Beginners are less likely to understand and appreciate the importance
of getting your (security) updates quickly.

I imagine a bunch of people setting up their new boxes, or even just
checking out this new program yum, and (filled with enthusiasm)
thinking "yeah, sure, I'll watch the security list, and check my logs
every day, and keep regular backups, too!".  Then, 3 days later, they
re-discover their X-Box or something.  They never do get around to
getting "more familiar with running it manually" and as a result never
get around to turning the cron job back on.

I would recommend informing them that it DOES run from a cron job and
they'd damned well better know what they're doing if they want to turn
it off.
					-Michael
-- 
  Michael Stenner                       Office Phone: 919-660-2513
  Duke University, Dept. of Physics       mstenner at phy.duke.edu
  Box 90305, Durham N.C. 27708-0305