From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
From: arnold@skeeve.com (arnold@skeeve.com)
Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2017 13:14:53 -0700
Subject: [TUHS] pre-UNIX legacy in UNIX?
In-Reply-To: <837bbe68-c13f-c31c-eb3b-123ff708f2c4@spamtrap.tnetconsulting.net>
References: <CACCFpdx0UamZwaXf=LaAjFU=SfBx6RQJirj3qcGz49zDi_L=Mw@mail.gmail.com>
 <d28cd69f-fd03-de8e-14ce-860ff9f25bdf@spamtrap.tnetconsulting.net>
 <20171219190509.794961F96E@orac.inputplus.co.uk>
 <837bbe68-c13f-c31c-eb3b-123ff708f2c4@spamtrap.tnetconsulting.net>
Message-ID: <201712192014.vBJKErI9010289@freefriends.org>

Grant Taylor via TUHS <tuhs at minnie.tuhs.org> wrote:

> So I guess at some point we transitioned from the GECOS user ID to the 
> comma delimited format that we use today.  I suppose it was after there 
> was no longer a need to store GECOS user IDs.

I think this happened at UCB, where they split it into comma-separated
fields indicating full name, office, phone number and something else
I don't remember at the moment. Probably for the finger command. I'm
pretty sure the BSD passwd(7) (or was it passwd(5)?) man page described
things in detail.

HTH,

Arnold