Subject: misc/35718: security(8) should be renamed to not be confused as a man page for the /etc/security script
To: None <misc-bug-people@netbsd.org, gnats-admin@netbsd.org,>
From: Greg A. Woods <woods@planix.com>
List: netbsd-bugs
Date: 02/19/2007 21:05:00
>Number: 35718
>Category: misc
>Synopsis: security(8) should be renamed to not be confused as a man page for the /etc/security script
>Confidential: no
>Severity: non-critical
>Priority: low
>Responsible: misc-bug-people
>State: open
>Class: doc-bug
>Submitter-Id: net
>Arrival-Date: Mon Feb 19 21:05:00 +0000 2007
>Originator: Greg A. Woods
>Release: NetBSD 4.0
>Organization:
Planix, Inc.; Toronto, Ontario; Canada
>Environment:
System: NetBSD-4
>Description:
The new security(8) manual page should be renamed such that it
cannot be confused as a manual page for the /etc/security
script.
There should also be a section-8 manual page for all the
standard cron-driven system management and maintenance scripts
too I suppose.
>How-To-Repeat:
>Fix:
One possibility to dealing with the security(8) conflict would
be to move the page about systems security into section 7.
The problem with section 8 of BSD's manual is that it is
over-loaded in meaning. That was one of the really nice
things about the UNIX manuals having *m sections for
maintenance and management related programs and files and such
and not cluttering any section with both references for
specific commands and files along with other general
information.
In fact it might be nice if all the manual pages similar to
this new security(8) manual page, i.e. the ones which don't
explicitly deal with files, programs, or APIs, were moved into
share/doc where they could be made chapters in the relevant
book. It would also be nice if "man" or some similar tool
(e.g. "doc") could display (and search!) online readable
copies of the share/doc books too of course.
I could provide the missing cron-script manual pages as
starters if that would help.
I'd be happy to help edit some existing documents into
suitable form to be used as chapters in share/doc books too.
I could even help convert some of the share/doc books into
mdoc intput too, since that might help make them more usable
and easier to maintain and add onto in the ways I'm suggesting.