[Pkg-shadow-devel] Bug#304350: Always ask for root passowrd twice, even on critical priority installs?

[Christian Perrier]

Dear Technical Comittee,

The shadow package maintenance team is left with an issue which seems
quite controversial (even inside the team...:-)).

See http://bugs.debian.org/304350 for details.

In short, shadow debconf templates are currently used by base-config
during the initial system install to prompt about the root user
password.

In default installs, the user is prompted for the password, then the
password confirmation.

However, when the debconf priority is set to "critical" in D-I (which
is not the recommended way to install a system and is aimed at
minimizing the number of questions seen by users to the very strict
minimum), then the root password is only prompted ONCE.

Some people have argued this does against all established practices in
such matter. Others have argued that the way to install a system is a
very specific way and that, after all, the password confirmation is
not *mandatory* to have the process continuing.

As the arguments seems quite solid both ways, I take the hard way and
hereby ask about Your Wise Advice. The discussion inside the D-I team
did not yield to a very strong advice, too, as far as I have analysed.

Please keep #304350 CC'ed to the thread and answers. I will then try
to make my mind from your answers.

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