[MTOS-dev] Default umask

[Jay Allen]

On Thu, Apr 10, 2008 at 4:07 PM, Dominic Hargreaves <dom at earth.li> wrote:
>  To clarify; if you don't configure the various UMask settings otherwise
>  in your config file, you'll end up with world-readable directories and
>  files.

That is correct.

>  Why is this? I can see this being useful in some particularly
>  badly-configured hosting situation, where the person installing MT isn't
>  able to set the permissions correctly on the output directories, but it
>  fills me with horror to see these as default settings.

You just described the vast majority of Movable Type's historic users.
 Shared hosting, no suExec/CGI-wrap, webserver process running as
apache or nobody, no ability to set up groups or setgid on
directories, etc etc.

This is a case of making it work for the masses while giving the pros
the ability to do it right.  If you can think of a way for Joe Blogger
running under a shared server with the Movable Type process running as
a different user/group to publish, I'd certainly welcome it.

>  Since the install wizard will often be writing to the config file,

Actually, in most cases, this has not been my experience but again,
this is a matter of permissions and the user account Movable Type runs
under.

> it
>  wouldn't be hard for it to ask the user if this is required, and add the
>  unsafe umasks if so. But I believe it is fundamentally wrong for this to
>  be the default (sorry, I've started repeating myself...)

No need, in my opinion.  You raise a very valid point and this has
always been a mild thorn in MT's side.  I'd love to hear how you might
consider changing things.  Perhaps there's something we haven't
thought of.

-- 
Jay Allen
Endevver Consulting
415-200-6985