on by default. If it's too noisy, you can look for how to make it shut up, and you will find it. If it's too quiet, you will look for why it's hanging, and not find it (because it's not hanging, just slow).
There is a signal, SIGINFO. For example, see BSD's `cp(1)'
If cp receives a SIGINFO (see the status argument for stty(1)) sig-
nal, the current input and output file and the percentage complete
will be written to the standard output.
That is seriously neat. But! The user has to know this. Surely, if you're trying to copy a 6GB file, it's better to take a lesson from wget and print a progress indicator than force the user to (1) read the man page, and (2) keep polling the program to ask how it's doing.
