[mythtv] [mythtv-commits] Ticket #1520: Don't automatically add new channels in mythfilldatabase

[Dan Wilga]

At 7:47 AM -0500 3/16/06, Michael T. Dean wrote:
>I would say that if anything, mfdb should also send the appropriate 
>requests to labs.zap2it.com to remove the new channels from the 
>lineup if the user specifies he/she wants a "static" lineup.  I 
>should have some time next week to do some remote hacking (1000 
>miles from my Myth box :), but should be able to make progress on 
>that task even without a local Myth for testing.  I'll post more 
>then.

As the author of the patch that resuscitated this discussion, I would 
definitely appreciate anything you could contribute in this regard. 
This is a problem that really needs to be fixed somehow, and if it 
can be done while also reducing the strain on DD, so much the better.

However, you also have to consider that the unnecessary addition of 
channels is not the user's (or Myth's) fault, it's DD's. If sending 
this extra data is indeed a problem, it would still be in DD's best 
interest to implement the option to disable automatic adds for two 
reasons that haven't yet been brought up:

1. Right now, instead of altering his DD lineup, a user can just as 
easily go into mythtv-setup and make channels invisible. As far as 
he's concerned, this has the same effect as removing it from DD, but 
has the advantage that he doesn't have to open a web browser and 
remember what his DD password is. It has the disadvantage that the 
extra data continues to be downloaded.

2. Just because the Myth devs are considerate enough to think about 
the impact of an option like this, it doesn't necessarily mean 
developers of other programs would be so thoughtful.

For these two reasons, I don't think we should "enable" DD in their 
undesirable behavior (sorry for the pop-psych reference, but it 
fits). If extra data being sent is a problem for DD, they should be 
encouraged to add the option to disable automatic adds, and probably 
even to turn it on by default for current users.
-- 
Dan Wilga                                         dwilga at mtholyoke.edu
Web Administrator                             http://www.mtholyoke.edu
Mount Holyoke College                                Tel: 413-538-3027
South Hadley, MA  01075            "Who left the cake out in the rain?"