GNU bug report logs - #73928
"who" should support wtmpdb

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From: Arsen Arsenović <arsen <at> aarsen.me>
To: Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu>
Cc: bug-gnulib <at> gnu.org, 1080330 <at> bugs.debian.org, Thorsten Kukuk <kukuk <at> suse.com>, Chris Hofstaedtler <zeha <at> debian.org>, Vincent Lefevre <vincent <at> vinc17.net>, Michael Stone <mstone <at> debian.org>, Bruno Haible <bruno <at> clisp.org>, 73928 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: bug#73928: Bug#1080330: coreutils: who no longer works
Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2025 18:41:02 +0100

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Paul Eggert <eggert <at> cs.ucla.edu> writes:

> On 2025-02-19 03:26, Arsen Arsenović wrote:
>> 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
>
> It's not just Fedora, it's also Ubuntu. Both systems have pseudousers named
> "gdm" that cannot log in (their login shell is /bin/false or /sbin/nologin),
> but which "who" would report with systemd. I assume other distros have similar
> problem.
>
> A simple fix is for "who" to silently filter out anybody named "gdm". (Sorry,
> Giovanni.)
>
> Is there a better way to distinguish real logins from fake ones?

I see these as real: they (gdm) are a user and they have a session.
Adding additional filtration can only confuse admins who compare 'who'
and other tools.
-- 
Arsen Arsenović

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