this post was submitted on 15 Apr 2024
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I found a (lengthy) guide to doing this but it is for gksu which is gone. I have to imagine there's an easy way. I am running Ubuntu. There is no specific use case, it is just a feature I miss from windows.

EDIT: I always expect a degree of hostility and talking-down from the desktop Linux community, but the number of people in this thread telling me I am using my own computer that I bought with my own money in a way they don't prefer while ignoring my question is just absurd and frankly should be deeply embarrassing for all of us. I have strongly defended the desktop Linux community for decades, but this experience has left a sour taste in my mouth.

Thank you to the few of you who tried to assist without judgement or assumptions.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago (23 children)

Sudo is "su do", i.e. "run as root", so it's funny to hear run as sudo because it means "run as run as root", like "chai tea" or "ATM machine".

To your question the answer is "why?". You shouldn't need that, that's one of the hardest things to get rid of, the "Windows mentality", it's like when people ask how to install a .tar.gz they downloaded from the internet, the answer is most likely "you don't need that".

This leads to an XY problem, where you're asking how to solve problem Y but that is caused by you assuming you need to do X, when in fact you don't. The main clue is that people keep asking you why do you want to do this. So, what exactly is the problem you're trying to solve? Why do you think you need this?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Sudo is “su do”, i.e. “run as root”

It may default to root but it doesn't mean run as root. Su means substitute user identity i.e. any other user (if you have the rights to it).

[–] [email protected] 9 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Both su and sudo originally meant "superuser" because that was their only use. They have retroactively been changed to "switch user" because this functionality was added later.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Just citing a source in case anyone wants a little history: su.

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