Fwd: speechd-up debian install question

[Chris Brannon]

Bill Cox <waywardgeek at gmail.com> writes:

> - We're doing *extra* work to make our system's sound less stable
> - Is allowing other people logged into my machine to play sound
> *really* a security issue?  I mean... are they kidding?  Maybe the
> mic, but a pure output device?

I can't say this loudly or forcefully enough.  Whoever made this
decision completely fails to understand Unix.  In Unix terminology, a
"user" is not necessarily a flesh-and-blood entity.  There are any
number of reasons why I might want to allow other "users" to play sound
on my machine, even though they aren't logged in at the console.  Unix
doesn't care.  It gets the fuck out of my way and lets me do what I need
to do, rather than assuming that it is smarter than I am.  I wish Linux
would stick to that philosophy.

-- Chris