[buug] Loading a .tar.gz file in Debian Linux

[Tony Godshall]

According to webmaster at hawaiidakine.com,
> Hi Linux people,
> 
> I am helping a friend with a Debian install.
> 
> Anybody know the best directory to open the gui window manager xfce from 
> a tar.gz file. This Debian Linux version  is "sarge". I am a FreeBSD 
> person and the file structure in "sarge" is not easy to figure out. Like 
> I don't want a gui boot up I want to start with a command line. So I 
> have finally, after reading the top complaints on the Debian list, 
> figured out how to start a gui under level 3  when you need to have it. 
>    I want to have a simple gui XFCE3, not KDE and only XFCE4 is 
> available on the apt-get.
> 
> Any help appreciated.

Did you try 

apt-get install xfce=3.8.16-2

xfce 3.8.16-2 is the latests one for sarge(stable) according
to packages.debian.org.  If you are getting 4, you probably
have something wonky in /etc/apt/sources.list.  You might
want to comment out nonofficial sources and do an apt-get
update.

I mean you /can/ build it yourself but why bother?

If you must build nondebianized source, you can put the source code 
wherever you like.  I usually put it in /usr/local/src/(name).