This is a TERRIBLE mistake! We scare away the new users.


By default the shell (bash) and some console programs make beeping
sounds in some conditions.

You might not realize, but for newbie users this is
1. horrible irritating, when one have a loud PC speaker
2. impossible to fix yet (he just starts to learn debian, linux, console)

"beep. Huh? BEEP. How do I turn that off? BEEEEEEEEP Oh my god, lets go
back to windoBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! quick!"

Advanced user will turn it back on in seconds.

Newbiew will be annoyed for it for days. Remember not everyone is as
advanced in Linux as You, and pissing off the new user at first
occassion is not good.

Smack in the head is NOT a good way to start a date.


For example fix this, as Debian Devel suggested:

<Cyis> raf256: appears the "set bell-style none" is actually in
/usr/share/readline/inputrc but commented out

Please stop scarring away new users!

Thanks.

severity 405523 normal
kthxbye

This one time, at band camp, Rafal Maj said:

You are kidding.

I think this should be wishlist at best, but it is certainly not RC.

Stephen Gran wrote:

Ok, lets change it to a wish.

Ok.

We discussed some options on IRC how to solve it.
Quite few people agree  the sound is annoying.
Yet some others want to keep it the default.

One idea was to make the shound quiet in VT (much shorter, low pitch),
and to make simmilar changes in xterms.

Perhaps more documentation should be added to inform users about how to
fix it (like in man bash?)

I totally second this.  Even if its only when using the console for a
brief time right after a fresh minimal install - or perhaps when someone
new has just installed the system and X isn't working for them - this
bell is totally, nerve-wrackingly annoying and serves no useful
function.  Please just disable it.

Hello,

I agree with people saying this bug should NOT be present in Etch. I
had my share of experiences with this and is nerve wrecking[1].

For new installations the user will need hacker skills to disable it
and new users don't have that nor are perseveren enough to try to fix
it.

IMNSHO, I think the beeping should be DISABLED by default.

Why?
- New and old[1] users are annoyed by this (since the default tone and
level are way too high)
- The only people that I can think of that could USE the beeps are
blind people or people with sight disabilities.
- People WANTING it could could comment the option in
/usr/share/readline/inputrc the thing and this would fit (usually,
their hack-fu level is high)

I should note that, the pcspkr module is used by gdm, by default, too
(not sure if that should be disabled by default, too).

[1] http://ramblingfoo.blogspot.com/2007/01/how-to-disable-pcspkr-in-etch.html