On 09/17, Colin Booth wrote: > On Tue, Sep 16, 2025 at 11:32:33AM -0400, Steve Litt wrote: > > Somebody suggested putting it in the /var/log/slitt/fetchmail, etc, > > with the proper directory ownership and permissions. This is certainly > > an expected place, very similar to /run/user/slitt/fetchmail, except > > that /var/log is where log files are expected, so it's presumably sized > > for them and easy to remember and find. > > > This is the most appropriate for long-lived services with a lifecycle > that's larger than a login session and is also fine for things with a > per-login lifecycle such as a sound server on a non-headless system. [snip]
> > I really value all the opinions you and everyone else is giving me. > > Based on the responses, I think there's no one-size-fits-all right > > answer, and that's something I wouldn't have realized if not for yours > > and other peoples' input. > > > The most "unix normal" approach would be /var/log/USER/SERVICE and the > most "it really only matters to the user" would be something under > $HOME. All other approaches are situationally viable at best and have > really nasty downsides if you don't manage them correctly. Hi, Colin! The only thing about /var/log/USER/SERVICE that I'm a little uneasy about is that it's not namespaced under /var/log. So, if USER were the same as a file or directory already there (e.g., samba or wtmp), then it breaks. What about namespacing it like /run/user/USER, so /var/log/user/USER/SERVICE? Of course, if /var/log/USER is already a standard, then I wouldn't want to go against it, but if it's not a standard, then I wonder if namespacing it would be better. Regards, Lewis
