On Sunday 20 February 2022 at 12:57:07, Florian Zieboll via Dng wrote:

> Dear list,
>
> I just want to share the two most important things I learned yesterday:
>

> 1.) I can "delete" files for which I do not have write permissions, if
>     the containing directory is writable by me:

Indeed - this came as a surprise to me when I first found it.

The explanation is remarkably simple:

Write permissions on a *file* determine whether you can modify the *content* of
the file. This has nothing to do with the *file name* (renaming or deleting).

Write permissions on *the containing directory* determine whether you can
delete or rename files in that contained directory. This is because a
directory is essentially a file with a special type of content - names and
pointers to other files (inodes).


Antony.

--
In the Beginning there was nothing, which exploded.

- Terry Pratchett

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