The current documentation does not say the System Logger is optional. I feel like I "have to" install the system logger, than I have no choice. Based on the first page of the installation manual, this qualifies as a bug, "It is very important that you understand that choices are what makes Gentoo run. We try not to force you onto anything you don't like. If you feel like we do, please bugreport it." Reproducible: Always
Works for me as-is. A logger may not technically be a requirement, but it's still an essential tool for diagnostics and getting things like Portage messages and news items for changes made to your system.
current: "9.a. System Logger The first tool you need to decide on has to provide logging facilities for your system. Unix and Linux have an excellent history of logging capabilities -- if you want you can log everything that happens on your system in logfiles. This happens through the system logger." edit: "Some tools are missing from the stage3 archive because several packages provide the same functionality. It is now up to you to choose which ones you want to install. 9.a. Optional: System Logger A system logger provides logging facilities for your system. If you want you can log everything that happens on your system in logfiles. A logger is not technically a requirement, but it's still an essential tool for diagnostics and getting things like Portage messages and news items for changes made to your system. "
Hi Jesse, I understand your point. On the other hand, the very first suggestion you get when you are troubleshooting a system is to "check the logs". Yes, there are valid use cases for designing a system without a syslog, but one has to be well aware of implications of such decision. I don't feel that discussing the necessity of syslog belongs to the installation instructions, to be honest. You quoted a sentence about forcing users to do something. We simply have to drive a line somewhere and not mention each and every alternative. For example, I run a few virtualized systems which do not have any bootloader at all, but that doesn't mean that I should mark the whole bootloader section as an optional one. I can also use a different C library, but instructions for doing that don't belong to the very first document a user reads when she wants to install Gentoo. My understanding of that sentence is that there should be technical means for doing reasonable and sane things; that's for example why the USE flags are there in the first place. So yeah, you don't have to install a syslog if you don't want to, but you should have a pretty strong reason for that. If you do have your reason, feel free not to follow the instructions to the letter, they don't claim to be the *only* answer on how to install your Gentoo box. Thanks for your report, it's always good to hear about other people's opinions. With kind regards, Jan
