recovery from stupid error

[skaller]

On Ubuntu, Hoary:

I just accidentally deleted my home directory :)

The result is catastrophic: 

(a) The system will not permit a login as root.
(b) The only way to recreate the user so Gnome works
is as root

Now, I have fixed this because I can can log in 
as root on a terminal, run startx, and then delete
myself as a user, add myself back, and now I at
least have a desktop.

What happened otherwise is:
there is some stuff about a failsafe
Gnome session but it doesn't work,
the session dies with some error about gconf
and no writable databases, then there is a 
multicolour splash on the screen ..

The data loss (GPG keys gone .. mail
all gone .. personal data all gone ..)
is of course a pain.. however the failure of
the system to allow recovery is alarming.

I actually added the home directory back,
it did not fix the problem.. any user can
delete at least the whole contents of their
home directory (since they own it all).

It happened I didn't do it that way
-- I actually rm -rf /var/chroot/sid-ia32/ to get rid
of a Debian Sid i32 install I was testing something under,
and this had my home directory linked into it, so it
died too -- but the point is, the system should not
be left in an untenable state as it was.

Luckily the first thing I did after installing Ubuntu
was actually give root a password so I can su root:
if I hadn't done that there would have been no way
at all to log in without going to single user mode,
in which I would have had little hope of configuring
the desktop of a new user ;(

[.sig is missing .. not configured yet .. :]