The command
    $ sudo usermod -a -G foo netdev
tries to add user "netdev" to group "foo", and is bound to fail.

The correct syntax for adding user <user> to (supplementary) group <group> is
    # usermod -a -G <group> <user>

The mistake is visible online at
<https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-reference/ch05.en.html>.
It's present in source package versions 2.125 and 2.127.

Best regards,
	g.

Hi,

Am 1. Mai 2025 10:56:16 MESZ schrieb g1 <g1pi@libero.it>:

The text says
"Make desktop user, e.g. foo, belong to group "netdev" by the following:"

So you are right, the example is wrong, the <user>  argument has to be the last one, like this:


- $ sudo usermod -a -G foo netdev
+ $ sudo usermod -a -G netdev foo



Holger

Thanks

I committed to salsa

We believe that the bug you reported is fixed in the latest version of
debian-reference, which is due to be installed in the Debian FTP archive.

A summary of the changes between this version and the previous one is
attached.

Thank you for reporting the bug, which will now be closed.  If you
have further comments please address them to 1104496@bugs.debian.org,
and the maintainer will reopen the bug report if appropriate.

Debian distribution maintenance software
pp.
Osamu Aoki <osamu@debian.org> (supplier of updated debian-reference package)

(This message was generated automatically at their request; if you
believe that there is a problem with it please contact the archive
administrators by mailing ftpmaster@ftp-master.debian.org)
Format: 1.8
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2025 14:11:39 +0900
Source: debian-reference
Architecture: source
Version: 2.128
Distribution: unstable
Urgency: medium
Maintainer: Osamu Aoki <osamu@debian.org>
Changed-By: Osamu Aoki <osamu@debian.org>
Closes: 1104496 1104896 1105805
Changes:
 debian-reference (2.128) unstable; urgency=medium
 .
   [ Osamu Aoki ]
   * Use correct syntax usermod (Closes: #1104496, #1105805)
   * Use NetworkManage (Closes: #1104896)
   * ja.po: normalize formatting
   * make po
   * Update release to Trixie
 .
   [ Francisco Serrador ]
   * Translated using Weblate (Spanish)
 .
   [ Rodolfo Gigante ]
   * Translated using Weblate (Portuguese)
 .
   [ Eisuke Kawashima ]
   * Translated using Weblate (Japanese)
 .
   [ Petri Hämäläinen ]
   * Translated using Weblate (Finnish)
Checksums-Sha1:
 431092bc0494760679a0b8ecbadb13bdc3a940b4 3055 debian-reference_2.128.dsc
 e4172befb652035059c6ccbb8e3879c59715f557 2246744 debian-reference_2.128.tar.xz
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Files:
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We believe that the bug you reported is fixed in the latest version of
debian-reference, which is due to be installed in the Debian FTP archive.

A summary of the changes between this version and the previous one is
attached.

Thank you for reporting the bug, which will now be closed.  If you
have further comments please address them to 1105805@bugs.debian.org,
and the maintainer will reopen the bug report if appropriate.

Debian distribution maintenance software
pp.
Osamu Aoki <osamu@debian.org> (supplier of updated debian-reference package)

(This message was generated automatically at their request; if you
believe that there is a problem with it please contact the archive
administrators by mailing ftpmaster@ftp-master.debian.org)
Format: 1.8
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2025 14:11:39 +0900
Source: debian-reference
Architecture: source
Version: 2.128
Distribution: unstable
Urgency: medium
Maintainer: Osamu Aoki <osamu@debian.org>
Changed-By: Osamu Aoki <osamu@debian.org>
Closes: 1104496 1104896 1105805
Changes:
 debian-reference (2.128) unstable; urgency=medium
 .
   [ Osamu Aoki ]
   * Use correct syntax usermod (Closes: #1104496, #1105805)
   * Use NetworkManage (Closes: #1104896)
   * ja.po: normalize formatting
   * make po
   * Update release to Trixie
 .
   [ Francisco Serrador ]
   * Translated using Weblate (Spanish)
 .
   [ Rodolfo Gigante ]
   * Translated using Weblate (Portuguese)
 .
   [ Eisuke Kawashima ]
   * Translated using Weblate (Japanese)
 .
   [ Petri Hämäläinen ]
   * Translated using Weblate (Finnish)
Checksums-Sha1:
 431092bc0494760679a0b8ecbadb13bdc3a940b4 3055 debian-reference_2.128.dsc
 e4172befb652035059c6ccbb8e3879c59715f557 2246744 debian-reference_2.128.tar.xz
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Files:
 d202a8e56dd994a15fed8452c524210c 3055 doc optional debian-reference_2.128.dsc
 32d1932223f59538799e3169f6df3745 2246744 doc optional debian-reference_2.128.tar.xz
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