FAQ

Q: What's this FAQ all about?

A: For collecting small, uncategorised but useful bits of information or links that don't really require a whole page to themselves.

Q: I would like a 'gnome.org' mailing list/website/CVS repository set up for my project. Can you set it up for me?

If your project is closely related to the GNOME desktop, and you have a compelling reason to use the 'gnome.org' services instead of other project hosting services (such as SourceForge, Savannah etc), please send an e-mail to gnome-sysadmin@gnome.org explaining as much about your project as possible and stating why you think it deserves resources on the 'gnome.org' project servers. For now, the 'gnome.org' servers are run by volunteer system administrators, using donated hardware. We don't have the kind of resources available to other project hosting services, which have alternative revenue streams (such as advertising) to cover their costs.

Q: How can I update my SSH key?

A: You will need to send a request e-mail to 'accounts@gnome.org' with your login and attach your SSH 'id_dsa.pub' (or 'id_rsa.pub') key file. The SSH servers are configured to ignore your '~/.ssh/authorized_keys' file, and instead retrieve the keys from LDAP. Currently, someone from the sysadmin team needs to manually update the LDAP database. You can have multiple keys per account.

Q: Why can't I use my nickname for a login when requesting a CVS/shell account?

We have a policy that all login names should reflect the real given name of the account holder. GNOME has thousands of developers from all around the world. Nobody can be expected to remember the nicknames of all the other contributors, so as in the real world, people are referred to by their real name, not by their nickname. When requesting an account, you can ensure your request is processed a lot quicker by simply requesting your initials and surname, or your firstname and initials, or something unique that resembles your real name. If it's not available, or it's not unique enough, we will suggest some alternatives, also based on your real name.

Just to clarify that: Please do not request an GNOME account using a nickname or alias as the login. Just because you log into everything else using a particular login, or because all your friends know you by a particular nickname, or because your nickname shows your homepage as the first google result, or because you've registered the '.com' for your nickname that we are going to bend the rules for you. Even the handful of developers who managed to get accounts with their nicknames before this policy existed may eventually be asked to change their login.