On Fri, 2009-01-23 at 12:10 -0500, R. G. Newbury wrote: > Jeff Spaleta <jspaleta@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > Kevin Kofler <kevin.kofler@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > But PolicyKit does not work in a root session: > > > https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=447266 > > > Hmm...this is probably worthy of some nuanced and masterfully > > persuasive oratory as to where to strike the balance between designing > > for expected use cases and designing a system with flexibility to > > accomedate local needs even when those use cases are not considered > > best practises. . > > No nuanced and masterfully persuasive oratory can disguise the fact that > someone has made *and enforced* a decision that *they know better > than the user* how "THINGS MUST BE DONE" purely because the doing, is > considered to be 'not best practice'. > > In this particular case, the 'best practice' enforcement approaches > religious fervour in its application. In the particular instance which > started this thread, PolicyKit nags about being root, and then *refuses* > to allow the installation of an rpm! It does not deny the right to > download and install the rpm in a console....It just denies the user the > advantages of using PackageManager to resolve dependenices directly. > > And *exactly* what nuanced extra is added to the equation, by forcing > the administrator to log out of root, to log in as a user, to do the > same thing? Especially in a circumstance where the install is actually > desired to be general and not user-local? This position is idiocy. > > I don't mind a nag. I DO mind unknown and unaccountable people > attempting to enforce their quasi-religious beliefs on me (by > quasi-religious, I mean the attitude which equates doing anything while > root is akin to giving booze and car-keys to seventeen year old boys: > instantly and always catastrophically dangerous.) I know using root can > increase the probability of disaster. But I want to be able to decide > what the limits of my risk tolerance are, not have someone else do it. > > That argument, the libertarian argumnent is one of the underlying bases > of the free software movement. Let's have it recognized and venerated in > the code! > > Geoff My memory is that the designer of PackageManager indicated on the list that running PackageManager as root has security problems that running it as a user and entering the root password does not have. I believed him. Your objection is that it makes you log as a user rather than as root. I believe in the theory that "freedom" derives from the words free doom indicating that everyone has a right to commit suicide in his (or her) own way. I strongly support your committing suicide in any way you desire. -- ======================================================================= Never ask the barber if you need a haircut. ======================================================================= Aaron Konstam telephone: (210) 656-0355 e-mail: akonstam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx -- fedora-list mailing list fedora-list@xxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-list Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Communicate/MailingListGuidelines
