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From: strick@gt-stratus.UUCP (henry strickland)
Newsgroups: comp.unix
Subject: Re: Trouble with comments in /etc/passwd, need advice...
Message-ID: <1122@mcdchg.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 16-Jul-87 12:38:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: mcdchg.1122
Posted: Thu Jul 16 12:38:49 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 18-Jul-87 07:59:31 EDT
References: <981@mcdchg.UUCP>
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Organization: the clouds project -- computer science -- georgia tech
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Approved: usenet@mcdchg.UUCP

In article <981@mcdchg.UUCP> ray3rd@ssc-vax.UUCP (Ray E Saddler III) writes:
>I have been attempting to comment /etc/passwd with pound signs, like
>'cap files and the like to help keep groups distinguished, and notated.
>(Yes, I am aware of /etc/group, and I do use it) 8^}

On my masscomps I use a passwd-entry-like format for comments in my 
passwd files, like this:

______:______:8:8:  SUPERUSERS  :/:/______________
root:IaFZenWhNkyyl:0:0:Superuser:/:
croot:IaFZenWhNkyyl:0:0:Superuser:/:/bin/csh
kroot:IaFZenWhNkyyl:0:0:Superuser:/:/bin/ksh
daemon:xx:1:1:Daemons:/:
bin:xx:2:1:Commands:/bin:
______:______:8:8:  FREEBIES  :/:/______________
sync::3:3:Sync disks command:/etc:/bin/sync
who::3:3:Who command:/etc:/bin/who
______:______:8:8:  REAL USERS  :/:/______________
strick:8yfSuix/wijos:103:50:henry strickland:/u/strick:/bin/csh

The underscores seem to be good visual delimiters, and placed
in the right places, make sure no program can sucessfully
log in a bogus "______" user.    Be *SURE* and put a nonzero NUMBER
and not bogosity for the uid field, because
if someone does find a way to make the line work, you'd rather
them be uid 8 rather than uid 0 (which is what atoi() will interpret
a nonnumber to be).    "passwd" has no problem with these
on my masscomps.