[ale] Losing Ubuntu

[James Sumners]

Yes, you should. Let's say your user is "auser". Then, on a system
like Debian, he is also a member of the group "auser". So when you do
`usermod -G newgroup auser` then "auser" is no longer a member of the
"auser" group and simply a member of the "newgroup" group. Also on a
system like Debian, a typical user is a member of several groups (e.g.
"optical", "sound", etc.). So not using the "-a" parameter can really
screw up a user.

I've been bitten by it more than once.

On Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 5:06 PM, Damon L. Chesser <damon at damtek.com> wrote:
> On Sun, 2010-08-15 at 15:29 -0400, James Sumners wrote:
>> Make that `usermod -aG wheel $USERNAME`
>>
>> [1] -- http://linux.die.net/man/8/usermod
>>
>> On Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 2:12 PM, Damon L. Chesser <damon at damtek.com> wrote:
>> > usermod -G $USERNAME wheel will add a user to the group wheel
>> > (substitute the username for $USERNAME) when run as root.
>>
>>
>>
>
> -a NOT required unless $USER is a member of a group not listed, then
> he/she will then be removed from said group unless -a is used.
>
> "-G, --groups GROUP1[,GROUP2,...[,GROUPN]]]
>        A list of supplementary groups which the user is also a member
>        of. Each group is separated from the next by a comma, with no
>        intervening whitespace. The groups are subject to the same
>        restrictions as the group given with the -g option. If the user
>        is currently a member of a group which is not listed, the user
>        will be removed from the group. This behaviour can be changed
>        via -a option, which appends user to the current supplementary
>        group list."
>
> Man can be fun to read, I never used -a, but perhaps I should.
>
>
> --
> Damon
> damon at damtek.com
>
>



-- 
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