Subject: Re: useradd is useless for creating system users
To: Johnny C. Lam <lamj@stat.cmu.edu>
From: Thomas Klausner <wiz@danbala.ifoer.tuwien.ac.at>
List: tech-pkg
Date: 12/07/2000 18:44:33
Mutt made me believe that Johnny C. Lam wrote:
> Maybe it's just me, but useradd seems pretty useless for creating
> system users.  For instance, how do I create a user like "daemon"?
> The command:
> 
> 	useradd -c "Another devil" -d / -g daemon -s /sbin/nologin daemon2
> 
> will fail because / already exists.  What should I do if I want to
> create a user but not populate a home directory?

I committed the fix, slightly modified (there was a second place
(usermod) that needed a patch, too).

Problem is, what are you going to do on 1.5 or earlier, or current
machines which don't have that fix yet?

Bye,
 Thomas

-- 
Thomas Klausner - wiz@danbala.tuwien.ac.at
A man may be very industrious, and yet not spend his time well. There is no
more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of life getting
his living. -- Henry David Thoreau