My Internet is still not quite working, so I’m still confined to posting occasionally from a work machine or a library. In the mean time, take a gander at Matthew Garrett’s analysis of Automatix, which does an exceptional job of critiquing the way the package handles itself.
I’m no fan of Automatix, but I’m not enthused by any setup package either, so in that sense I’m an equal opportunity opponent. His analysis underscores just about every complaint I’ve ever heard about Automatix, and shows why those faults are so damaging.
What will be interesting at this point is whether the author(s) of Automatix take the time to correct (or even just smooth over) those issues, or if they take umbrage. For what I know of the author(s), I’m expecting the latter.
Seriously, I’m glad I never used it. I usually hunt down the packages I need at the moment.