> Hm. Very intresting, because I remember discussions that where very much the > opposite of this conclusion that the linkage between NFS and nobody is > confusing > and a lie. > > As far as I can tell, the nobody user was introduced with NFS for specific > reasons > (uid/gid mappings) and has always been associated with NFS. There was even > talk > about the gross misuse of this user for purposes other then NFS. > > There is no point in a general "nobody" user, it is horrifing actually. > > If nobody is not for or to be linked with NFS, what is it then ?
If I recall correctly, the situation is: NFS itself uses uid -1 (an int) to handle various things in special ways. The passwd NFS is 32767 (an unsigned short, which in some cases looks like -1 short), and is used by things like locate to ensure that it only sees files visible to everyone. If I recall this correctly, they are orthogonal.
