Bug#42052: PROPOSAL] /var/mail and /var/spool/mail
On Wed, Aug 04, 1999 at 12:16:51PM -0700, Carl R. Witty wrote:
> > On Tue, Aug 03, 1999 at 08:32:57AM -0700, Joseph Carter wrote:
> > > > I second this proposal, but please change the word "dependency"
> > > > by "Pre-Dependency"
> > Why does /var/mail have to exist before those packages are unpacked?
> Others have explained that this is probably not necessary for MTA's.
> However, it still seems necessary for MUA's. On a multi-user system,
> any unpacked MUA could possibly get executed while the package is
> unconfigured, and before base-files is configured.
However, that MUA would presumably get run by a non-root user, who couldn't
create a subdirectory with /var, which isn't world-writable.
And while that may cause the MUA to do "weird" things (like read the user's
mail via /var/spool/mail, or die saying "can't find your mail"), for an
unconfigured package, this doesn't seem unreasonable.
Cheers,
aj
--
Anthony Towns <aj@humbug.org.au> <http://azure.humbug.org.au/~aj/>
I don't speak for anyone save myself. PGP encrypted mail preferred.
``The thing is: trying to be too generic is EVIL. It's stupid, it
results in slower code, and it results in more bugs.''
-- Linus Torvalds
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