[Pkg-mailman-hackers] Bug#593737: mailman: user list does not have a home directory (/var/list)

[mzagrabe at d.umn.edu]

Package: mailman
Version: 1:2.1.11-11+lenny1
Severity: normal

When "su - list", the home directory does not exist for the 'list' user.
/var/list

Also, chapter 5 of the FHS states:

Applications must generally not add directories to the top level of /var. Such directories should only be added if they have some system-wide implication, and in consultation with the FHS mailing list.

Thus, it seems like /var/list as a home directory for the user 'list' violates
that section of the FHS.

Thanks for your contribution to free software and Debian.


-- System Information:
Debian Release: 5.0.5
  APT prefers stable
  APT policy: (500, 'stable')
Architecture: i386 (i686)

Kernel: Linux 2.6.26-2-686 (SMP w/1 CPU core)
Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/bash

Versions of packages mailman depends on:
ii  adduser                  3.110           add and remove users and groups
ii  apache2                  2.2.9-10+lenny8 Apache HTTP Server metapackage
ii  apache2-mpm-worker [http 2.2.9-10+lenny8 Apache HTTP Server - high speed th
ii  cron                     3.0pl1-105      management of regular background p
ii  debconf [debconf-2.0]    1.5.24          Debian configuration management sy
ii  libc6                    2.7-18lenny4    GNU C Library: Shared libraries
ii  logrotate                3.7.1-5         Log rotation utility
ii  lsb-base                 3.2-20          Linux Standard Base 3.2 init scrip
ii  postfix [mail-transport- 2.5.5-1.1       High-performance mail transport ag
ii  pwgen                    2.06-1          Automatic Password generation
ii  python                   2.5.2-3         An interactive high-level object-o
ii  python-support           0.8.4lenny2     automated rebuilding support for P
ii  ucf                      3.0016          Update Configuration File: preserv

mailman recommends no packages.

Versions of packages mailman suggests:
pn  listadmin                     <none>     (no description available)
pn  lynx                          <none>     (no description available)
pn  spamassassin                  <none>     (no description available)

-- debconf information:
  mailman/queue_files_present: abort installation
* mailman/default_server_language: en
  mailman/gate_news: false
* mailman/site_languages: en
* mailman/used_languages:
* mailman/create_site_list: