This is an interesting conversation.

I welcome anything that improves startup and shutdown speeds. KDE3 --- and by inheritance Trinity --- has always been pathetically slow in these two areas. I submitted several related bug reports: 1) 258, ksmserver: Logout confirmation fadeaway is too slow with older hardware and 2) 681, Add a KControl option/check box to show/not show the exiting "Saving Your Settings" dialog, 3) 760, TDE seems to exit too slow.

I would like to see these bugs resolved for R14.

With that said, I see a pattern in this particular discussion: unfamiliarity with all the options.

For example, many people start X through a login manager. When used in that mode, Trinity will show a TDE Menu option to switch users. People who start X from the command line (rightfully) never see that menu option because they switch users by switching consoles (Ctrl-Alt-F(1-2-3-4-5-6)).

Another example is how the logout dialog appears depending upon the configuration options selected by the user. When the Confirm Logout check box is selected then the dialog appears differently than when the check box is disabled. Similarly, the dialog options are different depending upon whether the user started the session from the command line or a login manager.

Then there are the differences between the classic menu and the kickoff menu. Also the differences when users enable or disable saving sessions.

I have populated my Panel with the Lock/Logout applet buttons. I can logout/exit my session with those buttons, using the desktop popup menu, the TDE menu options, or pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete. I use all of these options depending upon my mood and where my fingers and mouse cursor are located the moment I decide to exit.

I would not be surprised to learn there are other logout options that I am unfamiliar.

I'm seeing in this discussion each person's own preferences and a tendency to forget that these other options exist because each user does not see them anymore due to long-term personal configurations. Sole users of a computer or those who start X from the command line easily forget the Switch User option is available. Users who disable logout confirmation easily forget the option exists. Users who use a keyboard shortcut to logout easily forget the TDE menu options exist. Etc.

I'm not in favor of deleting the logout options from any of the places now available. One of the great attractions of the KDE3 model is configurability. There are many ways to logout and that is the way Trinity should be. In my own work flow with various apps, often I use different methods to accomplish my goal. I don't like being stuck to using only one option. If I was such a user then GNOME 3 or Unity would fit that style of usage. Each desktop has a place and Trinity's place is to empower the user to decide.

Before hacking code I ask that anybody interested in this topic actually use all of the various options, change all of the related configuration options, test starting X from both the command line and a login manager, populate the panel with the applet buttons, use both TDE menus, and then stand back to realize how all of the various options relate. This is a huge "big picture" conversation and until everybody involved agrees about the big picture, any code hacking is likely to upset those users who do things differently. Please don't assume everybody uses Trinity in the same manner. I have made that same mistake too often. :)

Darrell