Date: Sat, 17 Dec 2005 09:40:07 -0800 From: "Gayn Winters" <gaynw@bristolsystems.com> To: "'aksis'" <aksis@idea-anvil.net> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: RE: change max username length Message-ID: <074701c60330$ef0e4080$6501a8c0@workdog> In-Reply-To: <447ja3y88v.fsf@be-well.ilk.org>
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> -----Original Message----- > From: owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org > [mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org] On Behalf Of > Lowell Gilbert > Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2005 8:54 AM > To: aksis > Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org > Subject: Re: change max username length > > > aksis <aksis@idea-anvil.net> writes: > > > Is there a simple was to change the max username length? > > Check the archives of this list; this has been > discussed more than once in the last month. > _______________________________________________ >From man adduser: The user name is restricted to whatever pw(8) will accept. Generally this means it may contain only lowercase char- acters or digits. Maximum length is 16 characters. The reasons for this limit are historical. Given that people have tradition- ally wanted to break this limit for aesthetic reasons, it has never been of great importance to break such a basic fundamental parameter in UNIX. You can change UT_NAMESIZE in <utmp.h> and recompile the world; people have done this and it works, but you will have problems with any precompiled programs, or source that assumes the 8-character name limit and NIS. The NIS protocol mandates an 8-character username. If you need a longer login name for e-mail addresses, you can define an alias in /etc/mail/aliases. Plus here's a pointer to one discussion. http://unix.derkeiler.com/Mailing-Lists/FreeBSD/questions/2005-04/1879.h tml Our only application for this is email, and aliases work fine. -gayn Bristol Systems Inc. 714/532-6776 www.bristolsystems.com
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