Workstations: good reasons for owner root access

[David Haynes]

In article <125 at leibniz.UUCP> tpc at leibniz.UUCP (Tom Chmara) writes:
>......  However, our support organization (the Evil Empire) is aghast
>that INDIVIDUAL USERS should want root access to their own workstations.
>   The prevailing attitude in the E.E. is that people are going to mess
>up bad, that they don't need the access, and that they're going to
>be uneducated and irresponsible.  I like to think better of my
>co-workers.  Regardless, just because I claim that everyone here
>is of sterling quality doesn't wash.

As a system administrator in a (small) workstation environment, I
think I should make a small plea for a voice of reason here. I don't,
as a rule, give out root passwords to every Tom, Dick or Susan who
asks for it, but I do give root access to those individuals who are
competant enough (in my opinion) to have it. Why so?

The releasing of the root password, even on a single workstation, can
spell some long hours of recovery on your part as the result of a
typical novice Unix user's mistake (such as rm * .tmp in the root
directory). However, it is equally a pain in the ass to have to
su somebody in and out of root perms because they are installing
a package on their workstation that has root level daemons or
requires other "high" privileges. Basically, I try to use common sense
wherever possible. 

-david-

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David Haynes
Geac Computers Canada Ltd.		Telephone: +1 416 475 0525
350 Steelcase Road West,		FAX      : +1 416 475 3847
Markham, Ontario, CANADA. L3R 1B3	UUCP     : utgpu!geac!david
	Official Keeper of the Canadian X11 Sources Repository