Don't compress swap files (see section Is it possible to compress a swap file?).
You shouldn't compress kernel images with e2compr, or anything else
that you will need to access before a kernel is loaded. (I guess you
could patch lilo, but it really isn't worth it.) Besides, kernel
images are mostly compressed with gzip or bzip anyway.
Don't compress files you use with the loop driver (see section e2compr with the loop driver).
Putting the compressed attribute on `/tmp' doesn't gain you much, because most files placed in that directory are very short-lived.
I anticipate that sometimes I'll have to start up with a kernel without e2compr (e.g. when upgrading or when I need to boot from an emergency boot floppy). For this reason I try to keep essential files (mostly in `/sbin', `/bin', `/etc', `/lib', `/usr/lib/*.so*', `/usr/sbin', a few things in `/usr/bin', a few other things) uncompressed.
It's a good idea to leave the e2decompress binary uncompressed,
because it can work even without an e2compr kernel.
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