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Re-installing GF as me

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Re-installing GF as me
When I installed GF, it made "nobody" owner of all the modules. For better or worse, that means I can't touch the files; the system won't let me. This came up once before with another app and the Web host got a tad grumpy; they said they'd change the ownership this time but that in the future, I'd have to have the install script do that. Is there an easy way to do this, or do I have to bite the bullet and ask them to change ownership again?

Thanks!
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Re: [agaffin] Re-installing GF as me In reply to
You could install it from your ssh account to get the ownership right. Otherwise you'll need your host. I don't know why they are grumpy though - it's like a one line command.

chown -R user:group /path/to/gforum

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Paul: Apr 2, 2003, 6:36 AM
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Re: [Paul] Re-installing GF as me In reply to
I know :-).

Stupid question: How would I install it via SSH? I have an SSH client, but I've only ever used it as a telnet replacement.
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Re: [agaffin] Re-installing GF as me In reply to
Yeah that's correct, it is sort of like a secure version of telnet as the data sent from client to server and vice versa is encrypted.

You just need to launch the installer using perl, so you'd login and either cd to the same directory as install.cgi and run:

perl install.cgi

...or enter the full path:

perl /path/to/install.cgi
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Re: [agaffin] Re-installing GF as me In reply to
In Reply To:
they said they'd change the ownership this time but that in the future, I'd have to have the install script do that.

That's rediculous - unless the install script can run as root (which is a bad idea, and no web hosts would allow that), the script cannot change ownership - it is simply impossible. Some servers offer suexec (or similar) support, which runs your CGI's as the user who owns them. I really don't see a reason not to turn this on on a web server, as it doesn't pose a security risk (in fact, it reduces security risks), and makes everyone's life easier.Crazy

Just get grumpy at them, and tell them that a real host would enable suexec. Wink

Seriously, I'd recommend what Paul suggested - installing through ssh. The installation procedure is the same, except that you type the paths and URL's at the prompt instead of into text fields in your browser. Alternatively, you can use Fileman (Admin -> Tools -> Fileman) to work with "nobody"-owned files; Fileman will run as nobody.

Jason Rhinelander
Gossamer Threads
jason@gossamer-threads.com
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Re: [Jagerman] Re-installing GF as me In reply to
Thanks to you and Paul for your help. Aside from that one instance of grumpiness, the hosting company's been great (maybe it was just a bad day for the tech?).

Didn't know about fileman. Just tried it though on one of the nobody files and, well, it works and is way cool!