On Thu, 2002-12-05 at 07:49, Robert P. J. Day wrote: > since others have already explained how this works, let me point out a > larger problem. if you don't understand how simple directory permissions > work, you are *definitely* not ready for root privilege. you need to take > a course or spend some time learning basic linux before messing any > further with the root account. otherwise, you are fer shure going to > do something catastrophic, and then complain that linux has somehow > turned on you and done awful things to you, etc., etc., and how dare > it behave this way since you were "amazed by this behavior and can't > find anything on it." > > if you're going to be the admin on a linux box, it's time to take > responsibility for learning at least how basic permissions work.
I think what Robert's trying to say (in a rather elitist way unfortunately) is that you're playing with fire. Be prepared to accept responsibility for the consequences of your actions if running as root. Many a new admin has come crawling to most of us at one point or another complaining of actions that they *themselves* did as the root user, blaming the system for their own ignorance. Apparently, this has bittered some seasoned admins more than others, hence the response above. Many may be familiar with the so-called "admin's" who decided that chmod -R 777 / was a good idea. However - don't let his newbie scare tactic frighten you off. He's simply trying to say that you're better off learning more about UNIX basics before using root for arbitrary admin duties. That way you're more aware of the (potentially) catastrophic consequences of what being God^H^H^Hroot can do. Compare it to editing the CLSID tree of the SYSTEM_ROOT registry on your Win2k server as an Administrator. Looks harmless on the surface, but with alot of power, you can cause alot of damage if not careful. Hang around http://www.tldp.org (The Linux Documentation Project) and such sites for a bit. They'll set you straight. Or better yet, pick up a Linux bible or such book - they're great too. Would be nice if Red Hat and others would include by default for root a "motd" that displayed as root reading: **WARNING** You've logged in as root. Any command you run is done so at your own risk. You have been warned. HTH, -Rick -- Rick Johnson, RHCE - [EMAIL PROTECTED] (from home) Linux/WAN Administrator - Medata, Inc. PGP Key: https://mail.medata.com/pgp/rjohnson.asc -- redhat-list mailing list unsubscribe mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?subject=unsubscribe https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/redhat-list
