Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!usc!samsung!uunet!auspex!guy
From: guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: UID -2 and /etc/passwd
Keywords: uid passwd nfd
Message-ID: <4218@auspex.auspex.com>
Date: 31 Oct 90 01:53:20 GMT
References: <1243@compel.UUCP>
Organization: Auspex Systems, Santa Clara
Lines: 13

>He then told me that the -2 UID was needed by NFS, and showed me a page 
>from an IBM AIX/RT manual which contained the following:

And demonstrates that he misread the page in question.  In particular,
he apparently ignored the ", or unsigned 65534" part of:

>	The root user ID on the client (0) is mapped to the kernel
>	variable NOBODY (-2, or unsigned 65534) when performing file
>	operations in a mounted file system.

In SunOS 4.1, for instance, the password file entry for "nobody" has
user ID 65534, as 4.1 is POSIX-compliant and UIDs must be non-negative
in POSIX systems.