Baslinux mailing list

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Day Brown wrote:
>
> > Nguyen The Luan wrote:
> > >
> > > "setgid : Operation not permitted"
> > 
> > It appears that something is wrong with your user groups.

> I can see how a sysad would not want his users on the network 
> to muck around with the server. But that attitude does not 
> make sense for the single user desktop. 

You miss the point, Day.  Nguyen's question is about su
(which is used by non-root users to get root access).  He
is not talking about a single-user desktop

> So one of the things that pisses people off about Linux 
> is the 'permissions' issue. 

There is no "permissions issue" for root.  BasicLinux normally
runs as root.

> With dos, I can set the attributes to my critical system 
> files and device drivers to R)ead only. 

You can do the same in Linux.

> And, if that aint enough, put these on a floppy boot with the 
> read lock on. 

You can do the same in Linux.  You can also run it from a CDrom.

> It seems like BL is of interest to single users, not sysads,

Not necessarily.  I sometimes get enquiries from people wanting
to run a server on a small platform (eg. 16mb CF).

> and that it should be standard to minimize the perissions 
> problems 

That's why BasicLinux normally runs as root.

> with Linux you havta go outta your way to open up functionality 
> to the single user at his own desktop. 

That is not correct.  There are a hundred versions of Linux.
Some do indeed go outta their way to open up functionality to
the single user at his own desktop.

> which was what dos was always intended for. 

Intended?  I don't think so.  DOS was simply the best thing
that MicroSoft/IBM could come up with at the time.  I can
remember many articles in the early eighties that were 
severely critical of DOS.  The general consensus was that
Unix was far, far superior (but, sadly, too demanding to be 
run on the IBM PC).  

> Or put another way, why isnt there an upfront offer to install 
> Linux that way?

You are talking rubbish.  Some versions of Linux do in fact
install a desktop designed for a single user.  BasicLinux,
which is supposedly the subject of this discussion group, 
does not even provide the tools needed to administer users
(they are an optional add-on).

Some people (like Nguyen) wish to use BasicLinux as a multi-user
system, and I am happy for them to do so.  Their questions are
very welcome in this discussion group.  On the other hand,
your continual complaints about the supposed shortcomings of 
Linux are not welcome.  Please stop.

Cheers,
Steven