Linux-kernel mailing list archive 1999-36,: Re: numerical username

# Re: numerical username

Khimenko Victor (khim@dell.sch57.msk.ru)
Wed, 8 Sep 1999 23:37:24 +0400 (MSD)

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On Wed, 8 Sep 1999, Alan Curry wrote:

> Khimenko Victor writes the following:
> >
> >ntalk will dislike long names (>11 characters long) as well. Quota... Hmm...
> >What's broken there ?
>
> #!/bin/sh
> # Send warning mail to all users over soft quota
> repquota -a | awk '$3 > $4 { print $1 }' |
> while read u; do mail $u < /usr/lib/quotawarning.txt; done
>
It's broken script, yes, but it's not broken quota tools. We have
usernames 15-20 characters long and most tools work just fine. Of course
lots of reporting tools will truncate usernames in messages but it's not
a big problem really...

> When you follow the rules, the tools work. When you break the rules, the
> tools break. glibc developers are not gods and they do not have the power to
> change the fact that 8 characters is the rule.

8 characters is NOT the rule. It's obsoleted convention.

> Increasing the size of some username buffers inside glibc is
> meaningless at best. At worst, it encourages people to create usernames
> that will break dozens of standard tools.
>

It break VERY few standard tools. It break few bad scripts, but it's not
an issue.

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