Comment 2 for bug 107469

Is this really a bug? If you want the -a flag, then the sysvinit package is available to you. Also upstart has other flaws, like it's not compatible with selinux (or, presumably, other RBAC schemes?)

On the other hand, I should go make a feature request for the shutdown.allow file to a) support more users and b) support groups, perhaps prefixed with '%'. Now, who is maintaining sysvinit upstream? :)

I think the right way to handle this is actually through RBAC, e.g. selinux. GDM supports RBAC if it's built with the proper option, so if a user doesn't have permission to shut down etc it can be configured not to show it to them. Feisty's GDM at least is new enough, although I don't yet know if it has the option. I'm working on installing selinux for just this purpose.

It is rather curious that gnome doesn't have an option to prevent a user from shutting down through the gnome system. You can disable logout, or the panel item entirely, but not shutdown!?