In /etc/inittab: # Run gettys in standard runlevels -1:12345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty tty1 +1:12345:respawn:/sbin/mingetty --noclear tty1 Boot messages shouldn't disappear as soon as mingetty is launched. It makes debugging the boot process really difficult.
I just realized that no reason was ever given for the discard. I'll respect your opinion, but since my request was reasonable, maybe you can tell me why clearing boot messages right away is a good thing?
Consistency of display across all virtual terminals. Less ugliness on the screen. It's the way it's always been done. ;) In any case, the boot messages are logged in 6.0+.
*** Bug 17854 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
*** Bug 47518 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
*** Bug 131463 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
This may contribute to poor bug reports and general user frustration. At worst, this should be controlled by some easy/obvious knob. (I was not able to determine what was causing the screen to be cleared without asking.)
Closing out bugs on older unsupported releases. This has been this way for so long that I don't see it really changing. It's certainly editable in inittab for those that want otherwise; keying inittab information off of a separate configuration flag isn't really practical, and won't make it much more user friendly.