Subject: Re: CVS commit: src/etc
To: Luke Mewburn <lukem@NetBSD.org>
From: Jachym Holecek <freza@liberouter.org>
List: tech-userlevel
Date: 04/07/2005 02:54:06
Hello,

> On Thu, Apr 07, 2005 at 02:00:13AM +0200, Hubert Feyrer wrote:
>   | On Thu, 7 Apr 2005, Luke Mewburn wrote:
>   | >Peter asked core about this.  Core approved it, based on similar
>   | >rationale for the decision core made about new "system" users.
>   | 
>   | Thanks for speaking up as core@.
>   | 
>   | Can you please outline what the rationale is, and about what other 
>   | "system" users it is? Questions I see here are:
>   | 
>   |  * should future imports of this kind keep the original ("_", etc.)
>   |    username, to give up consiscency in NetBSD over keep differences with
>   |    other systems small?
> 
> Generally, yes, although we'd need to consider any deviations away
> from our new general policy of
> 	``namespace protecting per service user (and group) names
> 	with a leading `_' to prevent nameclashes with user accounts
> 	on end user systems.''

Just curious:

- Do such clashes occur really often enough to require special policy?

- Is leading underscore in login name guaranteed to not clash with existing
  account names on end systems? Perhaps one of the characters discouraged
  by passwd.conf(5) would be a better candidate?

- Will this policy extend to system users and groups added via Pkgsrc?

	Regards,
		-- Jachym Holecek