xhost: unable to open display ":0.0"

[jbk at mail2.gis.net (jbk)]

>>>
  It is. xhost +localhost has always been a feature of the 
user profile.
>>
>>
>> I just discovered a subtilety in the behavior. If I "su -" directly 
>> from user I do not have the problem. It is when I first "su" and then 
>> "su -" that xhost is unable to open the display.
>> So does this narrow the possibilities? I have two Fc4 systems I can 
>> compare. Or should I leave it as a quirk that isn't worth figuring out?
> 
> 
> Ummm, did you try what I already suggested?

See above.

> It's not a quirk.  Whoever starts X is the only one who has rights to 
> talk to X, or enable others to talk to X.  What's the mystery?

The mystery is that up until this upgrade to Fc4 I was able 
to elevate myself to root privilege status with "su" and 
then from that elevated status issue "su -" and become root, 
all maintaining connection to the Xserver. Now, I can no 
longer follow that pattern. If I want to maintain connection 
to the Xserver I must "su -" directly from the unprivileged 
  user status.

On the other machine that I did an "install" of Fc4, and 
then copied back the profiles and config files to the user 
accounts, I can follow the old pattern of privilege 
elevation as I am acustommed to.

> The "-" in "su -" means "Make the shell a login shell", which is 
> straight out of the man page.  When you  "su", you are elevating your 
> rights to that of root.  When you "su -", you *become* root.  There is 
> no subtlety.  You are no longer you.
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