DM(8)

🎀 NAME 🎀

okay so this is dm(8) from the System Manager's Manual — section 8 energy, system-admin bestie territory. And the name is literally dm — dungeon master. iconic, honestly. 👑

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

ln -s dm game

🎮 DESCRIPTION 🎮

okay so dm is a program that regulates game playing — like a little bouncer for your Unix games, no cap. 🕹️ dm expects to be invoked with the name of a game that a user wishes to play. The way this works is by creating symbolic links to dm, in the directory /nix/store/fdil5s4rn5km9v17kr4qllsnq0rnfmv2-bsd-games-2.17/bin for all of the regulated games. slay.

The actual binaries for these games should be placed in a “hidden” directory, /nix/store/fdil5s4rn5km9v17kr4qllsnq0rnfmv2-bsd-games-2.17/lib/games/dm, that may only be accessed by the dm program. it's giving secret VIP lounge for game binaries. 🚪✨

dm determines if the requested game is available and, if so, runs it. simple as that, bestie. The file /etc/dm.conf controls the conditions under which games may be run. 📝

The file /etc/nogames may be used to “turn off” game playing. If the file exists, no game playing is allowed; the contents of the file will be displayed to any user requesting a game. so if someone tries to game and sees a whole message instead, that's why. 🙈

🗂️ FILES 🗂️

• /etc/dm.conf — configuration file. the rulebook, basically. 📜
• /etc/nogames — turns off game playing. the “go touch grass” switch. 🌱
• /nix/store/fdil5s4rn5km9v17kr4qllsnq0rnfmv2-bsd-games-2.17/lib/games/dm — directory of ``real'' binaries. the hidden stash. 🫣
• ./games.log — game logging file. receipts! 🧾

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

• dm.conf(5) — go read that one too, bestie. 🔗

🕰️ HISTORY 🕰️

The dm command appeared in 4.3BSD-Tahoe. vintage. iconic. historical main character behavior. 🧚✨

🔐 SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS 🔐

okay bestie, this part is serious — listen up. 🚨

Two issues result from dm running the games setgid “games”.

• First, all games that allow users to run Unix commands should carefully set both the real and effective group ids immediately before executing those commands. like, carefully, fr fr. 🫶
• Probably more important is that dm never be setgid anything but “games” so that compromising a game will result only in the user's ability to play games at will. so dm stays locked to “games”, periodt. 🔒
• Secondly, games which previously had no reason to run setgid and which accessed user files may have to be modified. yeah, that's a whole thing. 💀

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xoxo, ur Debian girlie 💖 — package vibes dated May 31, 1993, page DM(8), signing off with a little 🎀 and a lot of respect for the classics. 🌈