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tech - - (+3|-0)
Reasons why LinSUCKS sucks #3: crappy file picker(self)
8 commentsbyLarrySwinger

A lot of linsucks programs are built to gtk which used to be great but is now riddled with bugs and dumb behaviours. If you save a file and then create a new folder inside the file picker, it will overwrite the name for the new file you're saving with that of a random file in the parent folder. If you don't fix the name you will end up with incorrect names. For illustration purposes, you may end up with: 

/home/user/Videos/birds.mp4
/home/user/Videos/matrix/birds.mp4

Let's say birds.mp4 was a random video and you were creating the matrix folder to collect videos you encountered on here. Then suddenly the name of the file you're trying to save, even though it was ben_swan_pizzagate.mp4. Now you cannot find your pizzagate evidence video anymore, because the crapware changed your filename.

Another issue they introduced in gtk4 is that writing text inside the file picker now executes a find command inside the directory that only shows matches. This is an instance of what I call spastic user interface. You lose the oversight. It used to be that it would simply jump to the next instance of a file / folder that starts with the typed phrase, with the find bar staying in place, and then up and down arrows navigate among the matches. The listing you were viewing doesn't suddenly disappear. Backspace manipulates the find bar instead of being unpredictable. This is much more peaceful.

It turns out there's a setting for returning to the old behaviour but it's reliant on using GNOME. What a joke.

I'm not just nit-picking, by the way. A lot of people are discontent with the new GTK. It's reached the point that someone made a list of GTK2 software. That's useful, although the choice is slim compared to what it used to be. GTK4's omnipresence reminds one of systemd. If you want to have a decent linsucks system, you have to evade gtk4, systemd, wayland, proprietary software, snap... You can do that, until your system adopts one of these and then you have to distro hop again. That's why linsucks users are forced to constantly distro hop. I can't even count on my two fingers how many times I've had to reinstall linsucks.

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[-]Drewski2(+2|0)

Yeah, I don't care for GTK or GNOME. Been using Debian with KDE for years now, no need to hop around. My current system has been upgraded without a fresh install, I think from Debian 8, which came out in 2018. There have been a few issues after upgrades that I had to fix, for example with GRUB.

It does use systemd, though you can use a different init system. I've read the arguments against systemd but haven't bothered to learn a different system yet. If they implement age verification like I've been hearing, may have to finally make the switch.

Wayland I've used and it's not bad at this point IMO, but I'm still on X11 since Wayland doesn't work with auto-type in KeePass. Eventually I'll have to figure something out since KDE Plasma 6.9 will drop X11 support. Debian is certainly not cutting edge when it comes to KDE releases so I'll cross that bridge when it comes.

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[-]LarrySwinger1(+1|0)

But can you avoid all GTK programs? The link in the OP provides just a handful of GTK 2 options. The selection becomes much broader when you include qt programs which I concur are alright. But you still have to be deliberate about avoiding anything that uses GTK 4. Firefox is one of those programs, for example.

I believe in Gentoo you can mask GTK programs to avoid them altogether. That seems nice. Gentoo is the one OS that may be able to withstand all the bullshit present in the Linux world because you can make the system your own, set all the policies that shape the system to your liking.

As a systemd-free alternative for Debian there's Devuan and MX Linux.

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[-]x0x71(+1|0)

I'm having trouble reproducing the bug. I'm in Thunar, but it should be similar.

You can still type to get to a specific file without having things disappear. You just type (not in a box). Of course the search bar filters. You want a search result to return more than what you are searching for? That doesn't sound peaceful at all.

It's funny, I've dodged almost all of those, systemd, wayland, snap, quite on accident. It sounds like you want my setup. Artix+Arch expansion+XFCE. Then you have access to the largest repositories that make any debian or fedora system look like a fleck of dust. Thus you never have to snap or even docker anything in your life.

Isn't that behavior exactly identical to Windows? Except the first one. I think you just messed up somewhere. If you have OBS you could record a video.

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[-]LarrySwinger1(+1|0)

It only happens when using the file picker. For example, when saving an image from Firefuck using the context menu or a webpage using ^s.

I'm using Slackware personally and have no trouble avoiding these myself. Only gtk4 does but it isn't difficult for me to be more deliberate about my choice in software. The problem is more that I cannot recommend Linux as a blanket term. The UX is so bad that I feel bad doing so. On windoze and fagOS you will get a good file picker even when using Firefuck.

And the more newbie-friendly you go, the more of these problems you will encounter. (Regarding snap, systemd, etc.)

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[-]WinstonSmith1(+1|0)

I recommend Temple OS.

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[-]LarrySwinger1(+1|0)

I unironically love it's interface. It's relevant to other other thread in fact: I would be part of my preparation for one year without internet.

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[-]WinstonSmith1(+1|0)

In all seriousness, you might want to give LXQT a try. It's a minimalistic desktop made with the QT framework.

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[-]LarrySwinger1(+1|0)

I've tried it multiple times but don't like it. I don't prefer minimalism over everything else. I actually like it when software has plenty of features. The problem is that the fatter DEs come with a lot of bullshit. XFCE sits right in the middle where it has a good feature set while leaving me in control so that's what I use. You can easily change the window manager. I use it with a tiling wm.

I recently learnt that LXDE is still around and I prefer that over LXQt. The latter is the result of a combined effort between the LXDE and Razor-qt teams. But LXDE exists separately and has just a tiny bit of extra features. I kept track of LXQt when it first launched and was underwhelmed by it then. And 10 years later it was exactly the same as it tends to be with open-source projects.

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