Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!PICA.ARMY.MIL!kvancamp
From: kvancamp@PICA.ARMY.MIL (Ken Van Camp)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi
Subject: Re:  Permissive permissions
Message-ID: <8905091215.aa10006@ARDEC-AC4.ARDEC.ARPA>
Date: 9 May 89 16:15:22 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 12


 >On three different Irises in three different groups (checked within the last
 >few minutes), / was world-writable (apparently shipped as such).  Not funny.

There was a problem on the 3000's with the tar command, whereby a 'tar x'
would always restore directories with mode 777 regardless of umask and
original permissions on the tape.  Use 'tar xp' instead.  I don't know if 
SGI fixed this, since I still use the 'xp' on the 3000's.  Anyway, it could
explain your situation if somebody (maybe even SGI) restored to that system
with a 'tar x'.  This is not a problem on the 4-D's.

..Ken Van Camp <kvancamp@pica.army.mil>