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Comment by jdofaz | Hacker News Reader

Vista started enforcing the file system conventions people were supposed to follow all along. Things like, don't write config files to the root of C: or dump temp files in C:\Windows

The prompts went away because the apps were fixed. Thanks to the pain Vista went through apps can run without Administrator rights and most apps were ready for Windows 7.

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> Things like, don't write config files to the root of C: or dump temp files in C:\Windows

Now half the devs out there write config files to fucking Documents for some reason...

Because Windows hides appdata from users, but many users often want to edit configs. So the devs stick them in Documents.

Is that the reason really? dot-dirs are also hidden by default, yet it is assumed anyone looking for config files knows they lurk beyond the period.

That's a terrible reason, if true. Anyone savvy enough to want to edit config files can figure out how to enable Show Hidden Files or just browse to %APPDATA% in minutes.

I don't use my Documents folder anymore because it's too hard to find actual documents among the dozens and dozens of misplaced config folders.

Windows application developers in general have a long track record of disregard for the user’s filesystem and other visible shared resources. Let them modify the user’s start menu and they dump a folder there with their company's brand name there and fill it with crap. Let them populate the Add/Remove Programs list and they’ll fill it with all kinds of incomprehensible stuff (even MS itself is horrible here, polluting it with MSVC Runtime This, and SQL Server That...)

It should be no surprise that developers choose to dump non-documents into the user’s Documents folder.

Adobe is the only one who does this crap in macOS on my system. They put 3 folders in Applications and on top of that put some more in Utilities. I see like 7 icons just for 1 app (2 if you count the subscription manager app).

Their attitude being the monopoly is just annoying.

Also all the games that now dump save files there.

Well, that I can understand. Save files are documents, as far as I am concerned (I used to back them up Just In Case while playing).

For RNG/permadeath games like Don't Starve, the save file better be safe.

We addressed this by adding a "Folders" tab to our About box which lists configuration, plugin, and other paths relevant to the application. Users can open a folder by double-clicking on it.

~/Library is normally hidden too, but that doesn't stop NSUserDefaults from sticking things there.

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