Subject: bug#73928: Bug#1080330: coreutils: who no longer works

From: Arsen Arsenović <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2025 12:26:05 +0100

Bruno Haible <[email-masked]> writes:

> Arsen Arsenović wrote:
>> This is correct, though, there is a session for the user 'gdm', and
>> they're taking up tty1.  If you walk up to that computer (you said you
>> were using SSH, so I assume you're remote), you'll see GDM running on
>> the screen (on one of the virtual TTYs).
>
> If Giovanni De Micheli has an account on this computer, who's output
> is ambiguous: you cannot tell whether the real user 'gdm' or the GNOME
> display manager is occupying the "seat". I would suggest that, at least,
> the GNOME display manager identifies itself as "(gdm)" instead of "gdm".

Sure, but one cannot name two users on a Unix system 'gdm', and there is
a passwd entry for 'gdm', so that scenario is impossible (save for
administrative errors):

  arsen@fedora:~$ grep gdm /etc/passwd
  gdm:x:42:42:GNOME Display Manager:/var/lib/gdm:/usr/sbin/nologin
  arsen@fedora:~$ useradd gdm
  useradd: user 'gdm' already exists

Presumably Giovanni might pick 'giovannidm' or 'gdmicheli' or such
instead.

The case for or against there being a user called 'gdm' when one
installs a Fedora system is one best presented to the Fedora hackers,
though, as it does not impact the correctness of the result above.
-- 
Arsen Arsenović