From owner-cvs-all  Wed Oct 18 21:42:20 2000
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Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 21:42:15 -0700
From: Alfred Perlstein <bright@wintelcom.net>
To: Trevor Johnson <trevor@FreeBSD.org>
Cc: cvs-committers@FreeBSD.org, cvs-all@FreeBSD.org
Subject: Re: cvs commit: ports/misc Makefile ports/misc/sh-utils Makefile distinfo pkg-comment pkg-descr pkg-plist
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References: <200010190429.VAA79901@freefall.freebsd.org>
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In-Reply-To: <200010190429.VAA79901@freefall.freebsd.org>; from trevor@FreeBSD.org on Wed, Oct 18, 2000 at 09:29:41PM -0700
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* Trevor Johnson <trevor@FreeBSD.org> [001018 21:29] wrote:
> trevor      2000/10/18 21:29:41 PDT
> 
>   
>   Why GNU `su' does not support the `wheel' group
>   ===============================================
>   
>      (This section is by Richard Stallman.)
>   
>      Sometimes a few of the users try to hold total power over all the
>   rest.  For example, in 1984, a few users at the MIT AI lab decided to
>   seize power by changing the operator password on the Twenex system and
>   keeping it secret from everyone else.  (I was able to thwart this coup
>   and give power back to the users by patching the kernel, but I wouldn't
>   know how to do that in Unix.)
>   
>      However, occasionally the rulers do tell someone.  Under the usual
>   `su' mechanism, once someone learns the root password who sympathizes
>   with the ordinary users, he or she can tell the rest.  The "wheel
>   group" feature would make this impossible, and thus cement the power of
>   the rulers.
>   
>      I'm on the side of the masses, not that of the rulers.  If you are
>   used to supporting the bosses and sysadmins in whatever they do, you
>   might find this idea strange at first.

Summary:

  I want root, security and audit trails mean nothing to me, btw,
  where the heck are my twinkies?

-- 
-Alfred Perlstein - [bright@wintelcom.net|alfred@freebsd.org]
"I have the heart of a child; I keep it in a jar on my desk."


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