Date: Sat, 20 Sep 97 02:33:46 -0700 From: "Studded" <Studded@dal.net> To: "Jordan K. Hubbard" <jkh@time.cdrom.com>, "Tom" <tom@uniserve.com> Cc: "freebsd-stable@FreeBSD.ORG" <freebsd-stable@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: >8 char usernames going into 2.2.5? Message-ID: <199709200933.CAA27068@mail.san.rr.com>
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On Sat, 20 Sep 1997 00:45:37 -0700 (PDT), Tom wrote: > Why? The changes are in -current NOW. You can make the changes too, >see utmp.h, and param.h. I know them well, as I've patching them for 2+ >years now! Perhaps you could write up a detailed list of instructions and post it to -questions? Also, what kind of problems have you encountered/overcome? Things that may seem obvious to you might be missed by a new person or non-programmer, so the more details the better. :) On Fri, 19 Sep 1997 18:47:59 -0700, Jordan K. Hubbard wrote: >Trust me, no matter how strong your disagreement with the above, there >are plenty of folks who will disagree even more strongly with the idea >of changing it. They don't want to have to update or convert in-place >all their log data (and some people have utmp/wtmp logs which are >archived for months and used to produce billing data) and for them, >2.2-stable represents the place to be when you don't want to suffer >from mid-stream changes like that. This may sound like a smart-ass question, but it's not intended to be. If I have a system that only allows 8 char usernames, and someone offers me a system that allows 16, what's going to break if *I* stick with the 8 chars I've always used? (And does this same argument hold true for the packages?) Also, aren't these few people with the systems you're talking about who are smart enough to cobble the things together in the first place also smart enough to change it *back* to 8 if the change is so easy? I'm a firm believer in backwards compatibility, and I understand the importance of supporting things that have "always worked." However the rc* changes that are being made in the 2.2 branch seem like a pretty big change to me, much bigger than what we're talking about with the length of usernames. I know quite a few people (myself included) who skipped the 2.2.2 fias... errr.. release altogether who will be seeing the changes in rc* for the first time with 2.2.5, so a good percentage of those who are upgrading will get all the changes at once if we do usernames now. Not to mention the fact that the move from -current to -release is an awful long way off to wait for a feature that is so frequently requested. Finally, my thanks to those who corrected me regarding allowable chars in usernames. Is there a canonical list available somewhere? Also, is someone planning to correct adduser? These may seem like trivial things, especially to people who know how to make the improvements themselves. However it's just this kind of stuff (like flexibility and accuracy in the available tools) that both make FreeBSD more user-friendly, AND flatten the learning/frustration curve for new users. Glad to see so much interest, Doug Do thou amend thy face, and I'll amend my life. -Shakespeare, "Henry V"
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