2) /usr/local is from unix history and was designated the place where users put there stuff. So when you compile your own app to be shared with all the other people on your system, you would put it in the /usr/local tree. This way the admin could secure the rest of the system and still allow users freedom to bring in their favorite whiz-bang gadget. Originally there was no /opt so the vendors put everything into /bin, /lib, and so on. Then people started realizing we need to separate 'optional' stuff from 'mandatory & necessary to run the OS' stuff. So they created a /opt tree which was the place for the sys admin to put 'unique to this box or function' software. In a server farm, this is very useful. I can't speak for SuSE but their decision to put non-mandatory stuff into /opt conforms to a philosophy that's been around for a long time. The idea of keeping versions separated by using version identifier is also not new. That allows you to migrate users with an appropriate training period and a beta / superuser community and allows quick reversal in a corporate environment - again I applaud that. No, I don't see this as outside the realm of 'standard' - also look at the Linux Standards Base. I do see a lot of the other distros not bothering with the administrative requirements (and associated headaches) in order to keep things 'as simple as M$'. and 1) Hijacking threads (replying to an existing and changing title) is considered impolite, makes a mess for those who use threaded readers, and makes subject-oriented indexing a near impossibility. Please don't do this.