Subj : MBSE, Sysops and distros
To   : mark lewis
From : Sean Dennis
Date : Sun Jul 19 2015 12:05 am

Hello mark,

18 Jul 15 21:42, you wrote to me:

ml> i do that with /home as a matter of principle... especially since i
ml> don't want to break an user's private installs and such ;)

I've installed MBSE four times under four different distros and NOT ONCE did I
have a problem installing it to /opt.

So you're willing to install a publicly accessable server into your home
directory?  Do you leave your home unlocked when you leave?  That's just
asking for problems.  MBSE is a system install, not a private user install,
and it's set up that way...

Not only that, but /home is actually an optional directory and not all systems
even use /home.

From the MBSE manual:

"MBSE BBS is default installed in /opt/mbse. It should be possible to install
the bbs in a different location but this is not supported. Many have tried,
and and only a few have succeeded. See Filesystem Hierarchy Standard for more
info."

It's done that way so the software will work correctly under every install,
that's why.  You should realize this.

From
http://www.pathname.com/fhs/pub/fhs-2.3.html#OPTADDONAPPLICATIONSOFTWAREPA
CKAGE S:

"The use of /opt for add-on software is a well-established practice in the
UNIX community. The System V Application Binary Interface [AT&T 1990], based
on the System V Interface Definition (Third Edition), provides for an /opt
structure very similar to the one defined here.

The Intel Binary Compatibility Standard v. 2 (iBCS2) also provides a similar
structure for /opt.

Generally, all data required to support a package on a system must be present
within /opt/<package>, including files intended to be copied into
/etc/opt/<package> and /var/opt/<package> as well as reserved directories in
/opt.

The minor restrictions on distributions using /opt are necessary because
conflicts are possible between distribution-installed and locally-installed
software, especially in the case of fixed pathnames found in some binary
software.

The structure of the directories below /opt/<provider> is left up to the
packager of the software, though it is recommended that packages are installed
in /opt/<provider>/<package> and follow a similar structure to the guidelines
for /opt/package. A valid reason for diverging from this structure is for
support packages which may have files installed in /opt/<provider>/lib or
/opt/<provider>/bin."

From:
http://www.pathname.com/fhs/pub/fhs-2.3.html#PURPOSE10

"/home : User home directories (optional)
Purpose

/home is a fairly standard concept, but it is clearly a site-specific
filesystem. [9] The setup will differ from host to host. Therefore, no program
should rely on this location. [10]"

So if you want to go breaking MBSE from its official distribution, go right
ahead and do it.  I didn't have any problem following directions, but just
because others do, that doesn't mean you can go around breaking software just
because of your ineptitude in INSTALLING IT.  I mean, if you can't even
install the software right, perhaps you shouldn't be using it!

This isn't Windows where you can stick a program wherever you want and not
worry about it. :)

I've several patches I'm going to be giving Andrew (hopefully soon).  I won't
support any patches I've made unless MBSE is installed correctly.  After
nearly 20 years of supporting Cheepware, I've come to the conclusion that a
majority of sysops are lazy and don't bother reading the directions.  In the
MBSE manual, it says that all distros may not work with MBSE, but it seems
people overlook that fact and claim MBSE is broken.

--Sean

--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20150715
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Johnson City, TN, USA (1:18/200)