Subject: Re: Pine 3.93 /var/spool/mail/etc. won't lock - permission denied

From: Mark Crispin <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 30 May 1996 23:26:42 -0700

On Thu, 30 May 1996, Ed Merrifield wrote:

> I can't get a lock file created on /var/spool/mail/whatever using 3.93. 
> I never received this message with 3.91.  /var/spool/mail is set to
> root/mail with 775 permissions. 

The protection of /var/spool/mail should be set to 1777; that is, public
write with the sticky bit.

You didn't get this message with 3.91 because 3.91 ignored this error
condition.  Ignoring it prevents locking against mail delivery when Pine
is rewriting the mailbox, resulting in lost mail or damaged mail files.
That's why 3.93 doesn't ignore it any more.

As for why it was ignored, it was falsely represented to me many years ago
that 775 protections on /var/spool/mail only occur on systems in which
sendmail uses flock() instead of .lock files for locking.

-- Mark --

DoD #0105, R90/6 pilot, FAX: (206) 685-4045  ICBM: N 47 39'35" W 122 18'39"
Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate.