How To: Multi User Shared Local Directory

[jd.hupp]

In this HowTo at http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=69834, Method 2 with bindfs will produce a shared directory into which users can move files/folders from their own home directories into the shared directory, and those will be writable by all users.

But Method 1 with Linux permissions will not support the same functionality, will it? As far as I know, even with SetGID and umask=002, files moved into the shared folder will retain their original group rather than the SetGID group, and thus will not be writable by other users.

And as far as I know, even adding ACLs to the recipe cannot overcome this problem -- though I'd be happy to be proven wrong!

Confirmations/denials/improved Linux-permissions recipe?

[altair4]

First, thank you very much for reading one of my more obscure HowTo's.

Second, you are quite correct. With setgid enabled any new or copied file inherits the group of the parent folder. Any existing file somewhere else that is moved to the directory will keep it's current group.

Third, I have managed to avoid the use of ACL's so far so I will take your word for it not being a solution to the "move" problem.

Forth, In retrospect I should have mentioned the "move" issue in the Howto. I also sort of made the 2 methods equivalent which they are not. Not only in regards to a move vs copy ( which bindfs does as expected ) but also that bindfs has no equivalent to a sticky bit.

[jd.hupp]

My statement about ACLs was not made with the deepest conviction. I saw one claim that ACLs could solve the move issue, but I found no further explanation, and my reading of some documentation did not lead me to think that it actually could solve the problem. It covered what happens when you move ACL'd files to other locations, but not the other way around. In any case I did not try it out to see if I could get it to work for me.

So for the moment, I'm using bindfs, which solves the problem simply enough for a small performance hit.