Re: New debconf template for webfs.
Mats Erik Andersson wrote:
> In this new form I have primed a new default value in the
> template "webfsd/web_root" as called for by #730376, and a
> complete rephrasing of the second paragraph of "webfsd/web_index"
> according to #727803. Of course I have also removed the approval
> seal at the immediate file beginning!
(730376 = the switch of default docroot to /var/www/html, 727803 =
complications in defaults for directory indexing.)
[...]
> Template: webfsd/web_root
> Type: string
> Default: /var/www/html
> _Description: Document root for webfsd:
> Webfsd is a lightweight HTTP server for mostly static content. Its
> most obvious use is to provide HTTP access to an anonymous FTP server.
> .
> Please specify the document root for the webfs daemon.
> .
> If you leave this field blank, webfsd will not be started at boot time.
Unchanged apart from the l10n-proof path, so it probably just needs to
be defuzzed or whatever the word is.
[...]
> Template: webfsd/web_index
> Type: string
> _Description: Directory index filename:
> If webfsd receives a request for a directory, it can optionally look for an
> index file to be sent to the client. Common names are "index.html" and
> "default.html".
> .
> If you leave this field empty, an implicit index file will never be
> delivered as the result of a request for a directory. Instead,
> webfsd can construct a directory listing for any requested directory.
> However, the server will send the listing to the client only if this
> action has not been disabled using the command line switch '-j'.
> Add this switch as an extra option for best secrecy.
(The second paragraph used to be just "If you leave this field empty,
webfsd will send a directory listing to the client.")
What does "implicit index file" mean? My first guess was generated
directory listings (as if you'd said "virtual index file"), but no,
those are the "instead". Oh, I see, "implicit" as in "the index file
implied by the request for a directory"?
Also, it introduces generated listings as if they're only relevant
when there's no defined index filename; but that's not right - you
also get them if a particular directory happens not to contain a file
of that name! (Unless of course you've disabled them, in which case
presumably it just gives something errorlike).
Third, I'm not keen on "best secrecy" (as if web servers existed to
help me prevent files being distributed). And it doesn't want me to
add the switch *here*! Do they go in web_extras?
After a couple of cycles of clarifying then squeezing I get this:
Template: webfsd/web_index
Type: string
_Description: Directory index filename:
If webfsd receives a request for a directory, it can optionally look for an
index file to send to the client. Common names are "index.html" and
"default.html". If you leave this field empty, webfsd will never treat any
files as indexes for directories.
.
In the absence of an index, webfsd will normally construct a listing for
any requested directory. However, if you consider automatic directory
listings a security risk they can be disabled by adding the server option
'-j' in '/etc/webfsd.conf'.
Is that still saying what we want it to say?
--
JBR
Ankh kak! (Ancient Egyptian blessing)
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