[ale] Linux Distributions

[James Sumners]

I am so happy you picked that analogy. In BOTH cases the problem isn't
the person taking the risk -- it is the risk he poses to others. Just
as the person DUI is a risk to _everyone_ on the road, the person with
a hacked box, because he ran an unsecure program as a super user, is a
risk to everyone else on the internet. Just because your box gets
owned doesn't mean you are going to feel the effects immediately. When
the authorties come busting down your door because your machine is
trying to penetrate the Pentagon you can't say "but running as root is
not a bad thing!"

On 5/17/05, Jerry Yu <jjj863 at gmail.com> wrote:
> it is all about risk management and balance. If one weights the convenience
> of running as root higher than the inherent risk of destroying the whole
> systems (and, on a hobby system, don't care about down-time, bad publicity,
> and recovery), go at it.
>  
>  sorta like, common wisdom has it that 'DUI is bad'. Then again, there's
> always someone insists that he/she can simply love the thrill of DUI. With
> enough luck, he/she still has breath left to brag about it.

-- 
James Sumners
http://james.roomfullofmirrors.com/

"All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts
pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it
is magnetic to the corruptible. Such people have a tendency to become
drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted."

Missionaria Protectiva, Text QIV (decto)
CH:D 59