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Bug 777461 - Added account management features
Added account management features
Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX
Product: gnome-control-center
Classification: Core
Component: User Accounts
3.22.x
Other Linux
: Normal enhancement
: ---
Assigned To: Control-Center Maintainers
Control-Center Maintainers
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
 
Reported: 2017-01-18 17:45 UTC by Norman Smith
Modified: 2017-01-25 16:34 UTC
See Also:
GNOME target: ---
GNOME version: ---



Description Norman Smith 2017-01-18 17:45:48 UTC
Request for Enhancement

The account management features provided by the gnome-control-center and by cockpit are not adequate for complete administration of users.  The tool system-config-users does provide the necessary features but it must be run in an Xorg session.  This link /http://preview.tinyurl.com/z93nexk is a thread on the Fedora Desktop list which prompted this RFE.

The following features are needed for administration of users:

New User:

Select login shell.
Create home directory other than default.
Create private group for the user and specify group ID.
Specify the user ID for the user.

Existing User:

Change login shell.
Enable account expiration.
Lock password.
Set days before password change allowed.
Set days before change required.
Set days warning before change.
Set days before account inactive.
Force password change on next login
Indicate when password last changed.
Set groups for user membership.
Indicate and allow setting user primary group.

Groups:

Add group name with default ID or specify ID manually.

Select user and assign to group.

I believe an examination of system-config-users will clarify the above list.
Comment 1 Norman Smith 2017-01-18 18:00:15 UTC
I have posted a RFE issue on github for the Cockpit project.

https://github.com/cockpit-project/cockpit/issues/5762

I am sure the Cockpit folks and the Gnome folks can work out a good solution.
Comment 2 Matthias Clasen 2017-01-18 18:50:11 UTC
I think the first step here would be determine which (if any) of these features are actually useful to expose in the UI, and why. Knowing a bit more about use cases in which they occur will help determine a suitable UI.
Comment 3 Bastien Nocera 2017-01-25 16:34:22 UTC
(In reply to Norman Smith from comment #0)
> Request for Enhancement
> 
> The account management features provided by the gnome-control-center and by
> cockpit are not adequate for complete administration of users.

They don't claim and don't aim to be.

>  The tool
> system-config-users does provide the necessary features but it must be run
> in an Xorg session.  This link /http://preview.tinyurl.com/z93nexk is a
> thread on the Fedora Desktop list which prompted this RFE.
> 
> The following features are needed for administration of users:
> 
> New User:
> 
> Select login shell.
> Create home directory other than default.
> Create private group for the user and specify group ID.
> Specify the user ID for the user.

I don't think we want or need any of those.

> Existing User:
> 
> Change login shell.

I don't see this as needed, you can change the shell in gnome-terminal's profile settings.

> Enable account expiration.
> Lock password.
> Set days before password change allowed.
> Set days before change required.
> Set days warning before change.
> Set days before account inactive.

Those are enterprise or user management on a scale that we don't intend to cover. At best, those might come in as part of a parental control configuration for users, not individually.

> Force password change on next login

This is already possible.

> Indicate when password last changed.
> Set groups for user membership.
> Indicate and allow setting user primary group.
> 
> Groups:
> 
> Add group name with default ID or specify ID manually.
> Select user and assign to group.
> 
> I believe an examination of system-config-users will clarify the above list.

We don't have a concept of groups.

So, based on those, I don't think we want or need any of those features in the Users Settings panel. Some functionality would be needed if and when we implement parental controls. In the meanwhile, I'm closing this.

In the future, please keep it at one feature per bug filed.