[development] 4.8/5.0: Modules, the install system, and directories

[Morbus Iff]

> Knowing that a file has been modified since it was initially installed 
> can be very useful information. For changes that are made to the files 
> without the install system.

To what and to whom though? How would it work or matter?

About the only way I can see it being important is to encourage improper 
behavior: it encourages people to modify core files because when they 
upgrade, they can just check out what files they've changed, and merge 
the modifications, ignorantly, back into the newly downloaded core 
files. We shouldn't encourage that behavior.

As for a normal Drupal upgrading process, I'm failing to see how that 
information is actually *useful* - how would the timestamp ever get 
updated? I run disobey.com off of HEAD - am I too assume I'd have to 
click "use this new timestamp for the base" every time I do a "cvs 
update"? And if it's just a click away like that, how is it future 
useful to a confused end user who just wants the message to go away?

Need concrete examples and explanations, not "just cos!".

-- 
Morbus Iff ( you are nothing without your robot car, NOTHING! )
Culture: http://www.disobey.com/ and http://www.gamegrene.com/
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