[scripts-announce] World-Readable File Behavior Change

[Jeff Arnold]

The conditions that cause scripts.mit.edu to treat a file as
world-readable have changed slightly.  (Raw html files, images, style
sheets, and other non-executable content that you want to be served
directly to the web must be marked as world-readable to the script
server).

You can mark a file as world-readable to the script server in two ways:

1.  You can modify the afs access control list of the file's directory so
that system:anyuser has rl access.
(example command: "fs sa DIRECTORY system:anyuser rl")

2.  You can chmod the file so that its mode is 777.  This special trick
allows you to mark as world-readable particular files in an
otherwise-protected directory.
(example command: "chmod 777 FILE")

Note that the script server's world-readable chmod mode is 777 -- only
this mode will be cause the script server to treat a file as
world-readable.  The mode 777 was chosen because most afs users do not
expect chmod mode to matter, and we would like an uncommon mode to
correspond to the instruction "I know what I'm doing and I want this file
to be world-readable".

Sorry for not announcing this change before making it.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Jeff Arnold
jbarnold at mit.edu