Easy way/script to add another user like me?

[Alan McKinnon]

On Saturday, 25 February 2006 00:09, Tommy Trussell wrote:
> On 2/24/06, Alan McKinnon <alan at linuxholdings.co.za> wrote:
> > The GUI is for *user* tasks and common predictable system
> > tasks. For anything else, we have this wonderful tool that has
> > been around for 37 years called the shell. It's not elitism -
> > there's a certain minimum amount of expertise and knowledge
> > required to perform system tasks, and doing them through a shell
> > effectively separates those who may do it from those who have no
> > business being near that stuff.
>
> I'm going to (provisionally) accept your argument that my
> suggestion is a horrible idea from an engineering standpoint
> (because I really don't know what I'm talking about on that level).
>
> HOWEVER as a long-time computer user I believe a fully discoverable
> and usable GUI reflects a well-thought-out system underneath, and
> should be usable for all levels of administration. I think relying
> on CLI tools is not "elitism" but a symptom of an inconsistent
> system underneath. Maybe the idea is heresy in these parts but I
> believe ultimately all the system tasks on a stock system should be
> manageable from a GUI.

It's nice idea but basically unimplementable because of the huge 
variety of possibilities at a low level. Windows manages it because 
a) there's no other way on that platform and b) there's only one 
stock system below it.

The one project that tried it on Linux is Webmin, whichh managed to 
(almost) solve one problem and created a swathe of new ones...

> In this thread we've been discussing how to transfer parameters
> from one user account to another. If the idea of copying and
> pasting parameters is a bad idea, then how about a way to display
> one user's parameters and a "diff" of another user's parameters (or
> of the prototypical "skel" user) so the needed changes are more
> evident? Maybe this isn't a compelling use of programming resources
> but I think it's a legitimate concern when setting up a second user
> account.

Several problems:
a) only root can do that
b) why would you want to do that? It might seem useful but in practise 
it isn't (or not worth the programming effort for an edge case)
c) there's no such thing as a "skel" user, only a bunch of default 
files in /etc/skel/ that get copied to a new user's home directory
d) gnome runs on workstations and are unlikely to have more than just 
a few users. So if you want to update one users, get a pen and paper, 
note your choices and click the relevant boxes for the new user. If 
the machine is on a large network where many people can use any 
machine, then the user's details aren't on the local machine anyway 
(and that machine is highly unlikely to be running an X server if 
it's admin has clue > 0)

> Of course this pie-in-the-sky speculation probably doesn't belong
> on this list, and I apologize for the bandwidth.

No problem by me. Slightly off-the-beat discussions are the ones that 
tend to open up horizons. Other folks might also learn something they 
wouldn't otherwise

-- 
Alan McKinnon
alan at linuxholdings dot co dot za
+27 82, double three seven, one nine three five