Version: (using KDE KDE 3.3.1) Installed from: Gentoo Packages OS: Linux At least some system-wide KDE configuration files are in /usr/kde/<version>/... This causes problems with backing up - it's more convenient to only backup /etc and expect all configuration files to be included there. It might also go against the FSSTND though I'm not sure. Furthermore, the presence of the version-specific folder (e.g. /usr/kde/3.3) is annoying at least for the reason that it causes configuration to be reset to defaults when I upgrade KDE (e.g. the Login Manager configuration). Maybe there's a good reason for that approach but I don't know what it is.
You can already do that. There's /etc/kderc that sets the dirs KDE reads. And KDEDIRS sets where to find the information. KDE doesn't use /usr/kde/<version> by default. That's something your distribution made. We use /usr/local.
OK, interesting. I don't have a /etc/kderc file. Is it supposed to get installed with KDE?
your problem is with gentoo and you should use gentoo.org to report that problem. KDE will only install where told and that's not in /etc by default
OK, I see that now and maybe I will start a bug report at bugs.gentoo.org, but I'd just like to know whether there's supposed to be a /etc/kderc file on a properly installed KDE installation?
Not necessarly, no. I only have a /etc/kde3rc ;)