Chrooted Apache

August 14, 2004 D. H. McKee

Off

Troubleshooting my new OpenBSD server this morning. Trying to get the new MovableType blog software in place (with MySQL and all the cool MT software plugins that will stop the incessant spam comments, etc.). However, I wasn’t able to get any of the CGIs to work. Kept getting 500 server errors, and “Premature end of script headers” errors in the Apache error log. Even the test-cgi wasn’t working.
Found this little tidbit of information: The trick was this is the OpenBSD implementation of a chrooted Apache. You need to start Apache (httpd) with the -u option. Apparently the -u option turns off the chrooting of Apache and allows the Perl interperter to work correctly.
OpenBSD.org has this to say about the issue:
http://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq10.html#httpdchroot
“Existing CGIs: Most will NOT work as is. They may need programs or libraries outside /var/www. Some can be fixed by compiling so they are statically linked (not needing libraries in other directories), most may be fixed by populating the /var/www directory with the files required by the application, though this is non- trivial and requires considerable programming knowledge — most users will find it easier to just disable the chroot(2) feature until they are updated.”

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As a guy who occasionally curates art shows and wrangles artists together, I often have to edit and post artist bios, profile pictures, and artwork images. This can be a problem, since many artists and writers aren’t used to selling themselves. Artists rarely know how to present their art for display in a brochure, and writers aren’t used to writing about themselves.

Writers often treat the bio like it’s an interview or something. Maybe like they’re having a conversation with you, the reader. While it may work sometimes, the most common way to write a bio is to write in the 3rd person.

I’m like those writers, and I’m talking to you directly, unlike the common way to do a bio. You should see my About page. It makes sense to me, since this is a bit which describes my blog’s website. When I get famous enough that I don’t have time to talk to you, I’ll have an intern write everything in 3rd person. Until then, you get to talk to me.

Like blogs of old, this one is a personal document of the comings and goings of me. Articles I’ve written, links I’ve posted, videos I liked, etc. Here, a first-person perspective is the way to go, at least for now. So, this is my site. I’m D. H. McKee, a sometimes artist, sometimes writer. Mostly just a guy on the internet.