for everyone whose sick of sudo read this

[irusun]

As a long time user of Linux, I was quite confused after installing
Ubuntu - it took me a few hours to figure out what was going on with
the whole sudo/root thing.  If Ubuntu is going to do something
radically different like change the nature of the root user (from every
other distro I've ever used), it should be much more clear up front
during the installation.



It appears that Ubuntu tried to tackle the issue that many new users to
Linux would simply use the root account as their personal account
because it was often inconvenient to do routine system maintenance
otherwise.



However, I think there's often a tendency to go a bit overboard about
using root - as displayed by this thread.  It starts to sound like some
1950's American propaganda film - and it's obvious that some of the
posters are just regurgitating what they've read from some other
overzealous poster.  



*nix has its origin in a multi-user environment, often involving dozens
if not hundreds of users.  With so many remote and sometimes unknown
logins, security is obviously an issue.  But the reality is that most
of the people using Ubuntu are just single (or family) users who just
want an alternative to Microsoft.



The idea that there's rarely a use for root is a complete Utopian Linux
fantasy.  It's nice to see Ubuntu has made it less necessary to be a
root user than a lot of other distros, but the root user is a very
useful thing to have around for involved system administration.



The danger in Ubuntu, in my opinion, is that the user uses the password
so frequently for everyday tasks, that is soon becomes automatic to just
enter it in without thinking about it.



I'm not complaining about how Ubuntu uses root, but it really starts to
sound ridiculous the way some go on about how "bad" logging in as root
is.  It's like any tool - learn how to use it, respect it, and have
fun!


-- 
irusun