Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Adobe PPD files
Message-ID: <1989Dec5.165758.26789@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <1025@maxim.erbe.se> <17380@rpp386.cactus.org> <1989Dec3.024451.11099@utzoo.uucp> <17399@rpp386.cactus.org> <JTKOHL.89Dec4134209@quicksilver.mit.edu>
Date: Tue, 5 Dec 89 16:57:58 GMT

In article <JTKOHL.89Dec4134209@quicksilver.mit.edu> jtkohl@ATHENA.MIT.EDU writes:
>I think a better solution is to lobby the application developers to add
>an option to their programs that allow a user to specify the exitserver
>password.  This allows the shared environments to be carefully
>controlled, while allowing people to get useful stuff printed (assuming
>they either know the password or know how to find the SysOp who does).

They know how to find me, and the answer to such a question will be:
"exactly *why* does this application need the password?".  Since the
usual output from these applications is cryptic in the extreme, the
answer will probably be "because", and my reply will be "forget it".

If application developers want to be told the password, first they are
going to have to tell me exactly what they are going to do with it.
(Having sufficiently readable output to facilitate confirming their
claims would also be a bonus.)  Not trusting users is a relatively
minor issue; the big problem is that we don't trust applications
developers not to screw up our shared printer, given the impressive
displays of incompetence they put on in other matters.
-- 
Mars can wait:  we've barely   |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
started exploring the Moon.    | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu
