# PORTDIR is the location of the portage tree. This is the repository
# for all profile information as well as all ebuilds. If you change
# this, you must update your /etc/make.profile symlink accordingly.
+# ***Warning***
+# Data stored inside PORTDIR is in peril of being overwritten or deleted by
+# the emerge --sync command. The default value of PORTAGE_RSYNC_OPTS
+# will protect the default locations of DISTDIR and PKGDIR, but users are
+# warned that any other locations inside PORTDIR are not necessarily safe
+# for data storage.
#PORTDIR=/usr/portage
#
# DISTDIR is where all of the source code tarballs will be placed for
# emerges. The source code is maintained here unless you delete
# it. The entire repository of tarballs for Gentoo is 9G. This is
# considerably more than any user will ever download. 2-3G is
-# a large DISTDIR.
+# a large DISTDIR. Note that locations under /usr/portage are not
+# necessarily safe for data storage. See the PORTDIR documentation
+# for more information.
#DISTDIR=/usr/portage/distfiles
#
# PKGDIR is the location of binary packages that you can have created
# with '--buildpkg' or '-b' while emerging a package. This can get
-# up to several hundred megs, or even a few gigs.
+# up to several hundred megs, or even a few gigs. Note that
+# locations under /usr/portage are not necessarily safe for data
+# storage. See the PORTDIR documentation for more information.
#PKGDIR=/usr/portage/packages
#
# PORT_LOGDIR is the location where portage will store all the logs it
as \fI\-\-target=${CTARGET}\fR only if it is defined.
.TP
\fBDISTDIR\fR = \fI[path]\fR
-Defines the location of your local source file repository.
+Defines the location of your local source file repository. Note
+that locations under /usr/portage are not necessarily safe for data storage.
+See the \fBPORTDIR\fR documentation for more information.
.br
Defaults to /usr/portage/distfiles.
.TP
Defaults to false.
.TP
\fBPKGDIR\fR = \fI[path]\fR
-Defines the location where created .tbz2 binary packages will be stored.
+Defines the location where created .tbz2 binary packages will be stored. Note
+that locations under /usr/portage are not necessarily safe for data storage.
+See the \fBPORTDIR\fR documentation for more information.
.br
Defaults to /usr/portage/packages.
.TP
Defaults to /var/tmp.
.TP
\fBPORTDIR\fR = \fI[path]\fR
-Defines the location of your Portage tree.
+Defines the location of the Portage tree. This is the repository for all
+profile information as well as all ebuilds. If you change this, you must update
+your /etc/make.profile symlink accordingly.
.br
Defaults to /usr/portage.
.br
\fB***Warning***\fR
.br
-Storing data such as distfiles and binary packages in PORTDIR can
-be potentially dangerous. The default emerge configuration defaults to this
-behavior (which will work fine), however if you deviate from the default
-configuration by changing PKGDIR or DISTDIR, emerge \-\-sync may inadvertedly
-delete all your distfiles/binary packages. Please make sure to set
-\fBPORTAGE_EXTRA_RSYNC_OPTS\fR properly to insure the safety of files in PORTDIR.
+Data stored inside \fBPORTDIR\fR is in peril of being overwritten or deleted by
+the emerge \-\-sync command. The default value of
+\fBPORTAGE_RSYNC_OPTS\fR will protect the default locations of
+\fBDISTDIR\fR and \fBPKGDIR\fR, but users are warned that any other locations
+inside \fBPORTDIR\fR are not necessarily safe for data storage.
.TP
\fBPORTDIR_OVERLAY\fR = \fI"[path] [different\-path] [etc...]"\fR
Defines the directories in which user made ebuilds may be stored and not