Why are .thunderbird and .evolution hidden ?

[Andrew Haley]

On 02/25/2010 05:06 AM, Marcel Rieux wrote:
> I don't have much important data and I do my back-ups in the most
> simple way by saving my /home directory except for a few directories
> to a DVD. But K3B asks if i want to save hidden files. If I answer no,
> the .thunderbird and .evolution directories aren't saved and there's
> some important data in there. If I answer yes, there then is a sleuth
> of hidden files that are saved that I don't really need.
> 
> One way around this is to copy those 2 directories and then rename
> them without the beginning ".". This way you miss a few files or
> directories if you don't also rename them -- such as .#evolution.sbd
> and .parentlock -- which... might not be important -- but why the hell
> are .thunderbird and .evolution hidden in the first place?

It's UNIX tradition, going back forever: config files are always
hidden.  The idea is that when you say "ls", you shouldn't see
anything that you didn't put there yourself.  It also makes it less
likely that they will be deleted or renamed.

Andrew.