[Bug 1134461] [NEW] /var/mail is real instead of symlink :: /var/spool/mail is symlink instead of real

[Launchpad Bug Tracker]

You have been subscribed to a public bug:

First of all, this isnt really a postfix bug, but as the Ubuntu
Bugtracking system is quite horrible, i was forced to choose a package.

If you look at /var/mail in Ubuntu, it is a real directoy.

If we look at FHS:

---8<---
/var/mail : User mailbox files (optional)
Purpose

The mail spool must be accessible through /var/mail and the mail spool
files must take the form <username>.  Note that /var/mail may be a
symbolic link to another directory.

User mailbox files in this location must be stored in the standard UNIX
mailbox format.

The logical location for this directory was changed from /var/spool/mail in order to bring FHS in-line with nearly every UNIX implementation.
---8<---

So this directory exists for staying incompatible with other UNIX
Distributions and mostly is a symlink to /var/spool/mail as it contains
parts of the mail spool.

So /var/spool/mail is the "real" directory und /var/mail was created (as
optional) as an compatibility directory.

On Ubuntu (and seems like on Debian too), its the other way.

/var/spool/mail is just a fake symlink to /var/mail.

The /var/spool/mail should not be a symlink to an optional directory!
Spool-Files belong to /var/spool, not /var/mail and /var/spool/mail just
getting a symlink to that is just wrong.

/var/mail is the optional directory which exists for compatibility reason and mostly is just a symlink
/var/spool/mail is the real thing!

---8<---
user at host:~$ file /var/spool/mail
/var/spool/mail: symbolic link to `../mail'
---8<---

thats just wrong!

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.10
Package: postfix 2.9.3-2ubuntu2.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.5.0-25.38-generic 3.5.7.4
Uname: Linux 3.5.0-25-generic i686
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
ApportVersion: 2.6.1-0ubuntu10
Architecture: i386
Date: Wed Feb 27 16:18:35 2013
InstallationDate: Installed on 2013-01-29 (29 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.10 "Quantal Quetzal" - Release i386 (20121017.2)
MarkForUpload: True
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
 LANG=de_DE.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: postfix
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

** Affects: base-files (Ubuntu)
     Importance: Undecided
         Status: New


** Tags: apport-bug i386 quantal running-unity
-- 
/var/mail is real instead of symlink :: /var/spool/mail is symlink instead of real
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1134461
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Foundations Bugs, which is subscribed to base-files in Ubuntu.