Re: How to remove a user?

[Raul Miller <rdm@tad.micro.umn.edu>]

Andreas Wehler
 > A> After searching a while for a program or script to completely
 > A> remove a user I didn't found something and did it per hand.  Is
 > A> this neccessary?  Thanks.

Removing a user is something that should be done with thought.  In
some circumstances (user never existed), it's just a matter of
removing the user's home directory and the entries in /etc/passwd and
/etc/group.

Other times (when the user really exists) it may be more appropriate
to change the user's shell to /bin/false (or something hand crafted
along the lines of /usr/local/bin/why-your-account-is-turned-off-user)
for a period of time before removing stuff.

Also, if the user really existed, there may be files outside the home
directory that also need to be dealt with (e.g. /var/spool/mail/user,
or /home/friend/shared/foo).  What "dealt with" means depends on the
situation... 

-- 
Raul