In my admittedly limited experience, I would have to support Keith. 
 
I wear several hats, one is sys admin, one is dba and one is developer.
 
If I am doing sys admin stuff I will log in and su unless it is system related (ie compiling and installing software.)  In this case I log in as root.
 
If I am doing dba or dev stuff I use another account with limited sudo privileges.  This helps to keep me honest and it forces me to consider my actions as a sys admin more carefully.
 
I too will use 777 as a test to see if it is a permissioning issue I am having.  If it is, then I work through principle of least privilege and/or post on a forum for advice.  So I agree that leaving something wide open is a very bad idea, but doing so to test an idea is perfectly acceptable unless we are talking about a bank, trading firm, etc.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Best Regards,
Boyd E. Hemphill
Database Administrator
Region XIII - Educational Service Center
MySQL Certified Professional
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(512) 919-5413

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