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Date:      Sat, 20 Dec 2003 18:26:01 -0800 (PST)
From:      "Jason C. Wells" <jcw@highperformance.net>
To:        Bill Moran <wmoran@potentialtech.com>
Cc:        chat@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: More trivia: origin of the wheel group
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.4.44.0312201820100.7377-100000@s1.stradamotorsports.com>
In-Reply-To: <3FE500F4.3060108@potentialtech.com>

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On Sat, 20 Dec 2003, Bill Moran wrote:

> Does anyone know why the wheel group is called "wheel"?  I mean, why not
> "admins" or something like that.  "wheel" certainly is a cryptic name for
> the administrators group.  Anyone have any idea why it's called "wheel"?

The guy who wrote the group functionality was both a buddhist and a
Journey fan.  He was listening to "Wheel in the Sky" while trying to
figure out a way to give more people administrative rights without giving
too much access.  In a fit of enlightment, he came up with a special group
for administrators.  Since they were the ones who kept things turning, it
only seemed appropriate that "wheel" be immortalized in the /etc/group
file.

True story!

Later,
Jason C. Wells



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