What is removing files from /tmp?

[Greg Woods]

On Thu, 2012-05-03 at 11:40 +0800, Ed Greshko wrote:

> When someone on this list asks for help in modifying a behavior to suit their
> needs/desires why are they often asked to justify their requests? 

Probably because the intent is not to "justify" but to "clarify", and we
geeks are often fairly blunt about how we phrase things. As a sysadmin,
I frequently have users ask how to do something, and I often have to ask
them to clarify what they are really trying to accomplish, because often
what they have asked me how to do is far from the best way to accomplish
their real goal. The users are practicing medicine without a license (or
in this case, misdiagnosing the issue).

Here's a dumb example: it's like somebody asking how to survive cutting
off a finger. If what they really want is for the hangnail to stop
hurting, you certainly wouldn't advise them to cut off the finger! SO
when somebody at work asks me how to do something that seems analagous
to cutting off a finger, I respond by asking them what it is they are
really trying to accomplish. If somebody has already started down the
wrong path, the best way out of the forest may very well be to backtrack
a bit first.

--Greg