Bug#921537: gnome-terminal: mouse wheel scrolling sends 6 key up / key down escape sequences (kcuu1 / kcud1) in alternate screen

[Egmont Koblinger]

Hi,

> Perhaps it should have generated scroll-backward (kR) and
> scroll-forward (kF) keys, and provided a terminfo that defines
> them. That way, this wouldn't mix up with the <up> and <down>
> keys.

There would be no point in that either: if an application cares enough
to handle kR and kF, it could just as easily handle mouse scroll
events directly.

Again, the point of this feature, which you disagree with, was to make
it _automatic_ (even despite its drawbacks in some contexts) for apps
that don't care enough.

(And, on a totally irrelevant note, which has been discussed many
times and I won't start over, gnome-terminal doesn't ship its separate
terminfo but piggybacks xterm's.)

While the feature isn't perfect (it cannot be due to its nature), it's
arguably still more useful for many people than harmful. I've seen
many more people complaining about its lack whenever it didn't work
for them, than complaining about its problems and imperfectness. If
you find it harmful, you can switch it off.


cheers,
egmont