SuSE Enterprise Linux 10 SP 2

I was trying to respect the warning at /etc/profile
and created a /etc/profile.local file.

I used cat /etc/profile >> /etc/profile.local

I then changed the UMASK value from 022 to 0027 and found (GOOGLE) that I could type source = /etc/profile.local without rebooting.

I did a logout. Then logged back in and received the following errors:
Argument List too long
Argument List too long
Argument List too long
Argument List too long
Argument List too long
Argument List too long

(I cannot login)

I was able to reboot the system. Again when I logged in I received the same messages:
Argument List too long
Argument List too long
Argument List too long
Argument List too long

(Again unable to login)

I needed to recover the system using the install DVD. I removed the /etc/profile.local file and rebooted again.
This time I am able to login.

Does anyone have any pointers on creating a profile.local file? Should this be a blank file to start with? I am only interested in changing the UMASK value for now, but my recent "adventure" has made me apprehensive about changing anything else.

The culprit was the equal sign. To source a file you just
. /path/to/file
or
source /path/to/file


Cheers,
Tink

I apologize, I'm not sure why I typed the equal sign. That was not in my syntax. That must have been a mental lapse on my part.
I did indeed type "source /etc/profile.local" on my system.

I tried to create a profile.local again today. I receive the same message:
bash: /bin/ls: Argument list too long

Feels like I'm wasting too much time on this. Has anyone else had this trouble? This time I only changed the UMASK to 027 in the /etc/profile.local.

I guess the reason I'm doing this is that I want users to put files in a directory on the server that can be edited by the group. I don't want users changing the permissions for every file they use. I'm correct in changing the UMASK only right??

Thanks.

umask is only relevant when they create new files.
What you want to have is setgid on the directory.


Cheers,
Tink