On Sun, 2009-06-14 at 14:23 -0800, Jeff Spaleta wrote: > On Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 6:45 AM, Simo Sorce<ssorce@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > I haven't done a graphical root login in the past 10 years probably and > > on multiple distribution. Graphical root login is meaningless. > > > Let me ask you a question as an example to better define the > expectation on behavior that people have on what it means to > administer a computer system. > > Can you run the thread audience through the steps on how you > personally go about changing permissions on a root owned file or > directory on a Fedora install to give write access to an admin user.. > using nothing but graphical tools as installed by default in the > Fedora Desktop? > > I honestly don't know how to do it. And I wouldn't think to do it > that way. I'll reach for the commandline somewhere in the process > whether it be to configure sudo or just doing the chmod under su. > Nautilus exposes permissions for root owned files but I don't see an > obvious hook that allows me to use existing authorization > infrastructure to gain access to change those permissions as an admin > user under nautilus. But for someone else...someone new who didn't > waste time learning how to banner attack their classmates logged into > the school's Vax system via a serial connection, someone who is > installing a linux system for personal use and learning how to > interact with that system and is basically their own admin...,they may > instinctively reach for a graphical way to do stuff like file > permissions manipulations. root login may realistically be the > simplest way they know to gain access to graphical tools to perform > simple operations that the user desktop does not allow. > > Its great that sudo exists and can be configured but how do you > discover that tool as a new user doing a self-administered install? > Nautilus is the obvious, intuitive for file management tasks, and if > the only graphical way to get to a version of nautilus that can > manipulate system files is to login as root..then it sort of makes > sense that inexperienced users will attempt to do that..because its > the logic of behavior the that graphical tool UI suggests. If there > is an expectation that users can work with the graphical tools to do > simple administrative tasks, I'm not sure enough thought has been put > into how to self-consistently expose that functionality. You certainly have a point here Jeff. Simo. -- Simo Sorce * Red Hat, Inc * New York -- fedora-devel-list mailing list fedora-devel-list@xxxxxxxxxx https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list
