Raul <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > I don't understand why, for example, /var/spool/mail needs to be > changed to /var/mail -- this seems like a candidate for a symlink.
This is under discussion right now. There are several reasons to use /var/mail and several reasons to stick with /var/spool/mail. Reasons to do this include: * SVR4 uses /var/mail * BSD (Net/2 and later) uses /var/mail * `mail' doesn't clearly fit the definition of spool data, unless you consider users to be a resource. :-) * Only other major OS that uses /var/spool/mail is SunOS 4.1. * `mail' is a shared resource (between applications) and would seem to fit better under /var in a similar fashion to /var/lock, /var/log, /var/run, and /var/tmp. Reasons to not change are: * Transition difficulties. People disagree about how hard it will be. * No real functionality gain, haven't had any problems not using /var/mail thus far. There are other reasons, of course, but these are the best IMHO. And regarding the /var/mail symbolic link, I recently said (taken slightly out of context): # If any change means a permanent symbolic link, I have reservations # about it. Today, we could drop /usr/lib/sendmail with no problem. # /etc/rmt is a different problem -- remote programs don't refer to # /var/spool/mail, they use POP (or NFS if you accept or ignore the # risks). # # In several years, we may be able to drop a /var/spool/mail -> # /var/mail symbolic link, but if we really think we need a /var/mail # symbolic link, common sense would tell us that it is better to move # the directory now. # # All that being said, I *don't* think we need a /var/mail symbolic link # and I am very doubtful that we will ever have a problem because of # using /var/spool/mail. I'm content to stick with /var/spool/mail, but # I'm also happy to move to /var/mail if Linux distribution-makers think # it's a better long-term move. > [...] > Here's my question: given that I have not much time to spend on many > issues, should I even get involved in FHS? If so, where should I best > spend my time? If you are interested, I would suggest you read the current FHS draft to know where we are. Sit and watch the mailing list until you're comfortable with the discussion and jump in when you have something to add to the discussion. A lot of people lurk and only say something when they get worried about the direction of the discussion. Dan
