You only need to set permissions on the templates if you wish to edit them through the admin area (which I don't recommend, as you're more likely to not keep a local copy of files if you edit on-line).
The templates themselves don't actually display. When you run a build of the database, they produce the output HTML/cgi pages such as home, new, add, etc. Thus the term, template.
That is not entirely accurate...the Read and Write permission is used not only for editing template files, but building pages. So, even if you don't edit them online, you need to have them set to 666 (rw-rw-rw-).
Regards,
------------------ Eliot Lee.... Former Handle: Eliot * Check Resource Center * Search Forums