how important is at_console block in other/wicd.conf

[toogley <toogley@mailbox.org>]

Hey,

my question concerns this block in other/wicd.conf:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

<!-- Comment the block below if you do not want all users logged in
    locally to have permission to use wicd-client.  This ignores the
    group based permission model defined above for the "netdev"
    group. Note that this only applies if you are using ConsoleKit -
    if you do not have ConsoleKit installed and in use, then this
    block makes no difference either way.  -->

<policy at_console="true">
    <allow send_destination="org.wicd.daemon"/>
    <allow send_interface="org.wicd.daemon"/>
    <allow send_destination="org.wicd.daemon.wireless"/>
    <allow send_interface="org.wicd.daemon.wireless"/>
    <allow send_destination="org.wicd.daemon.wired"/>
    <allow send_interface="org.wicd.daemon.wired"/>
    <allow send_interface="org.freedesktop.DBus.Introspectable"/>
</policy>

----------------------------------------------------------------------

the current situation, as i see it:

- this block is not really debug friendly, as the behavior of wicd 
changes in dependence whether consoleKit is installed or not. But this 
block is the only reference in the whole wicd docs and users won't be 
notified about the ignoring of the netdev UNIX group. So i think this 
feature would at least cause lots of confusion and is currently not very 
helpful.
- feature is depending on the deprecated Consolekit feature (according 
to the comment above) and on the deprecated at_console condition.


So i think, we have 2 options:

1) remove that block above completely in the upstream sources. To me 
this feature doesn't seem to be useful/important (but i don't know your 
opinion on this, therefore my question) and simplifying the code is 
always good, in my opinion.

2) Document this feature properly in the wicd docs/manpages and 
converting it to Consolekit2 or maybe polkit (?). I think this way, we 
are the most independent from systemd(which is important as Axel Beckert 
pointet out here 
https://lists.debian.org/debian-mentors/2016/02/msg00245.html).

What are your thoughts about this?