<chapter id='appendix'><title>Appendix</title>

<section id='theFhsMailingList'><title>The FHS mailing list</title>

<para>The FHS mailing list is located at
<email>fhs-discuss@lists.linuxfoundation.org</email> 
(subscription required as a spam limitation measure). Mailing
list subscription information, archives, etc. are at
<!-- use for docbook 5.0 -->
<!--link xl:href="https://lists.linux-foundation.org/mailman/listinfo/fhs-discuss">
https://lists.linux-foundation.org/mailman/listinfo/fhs-discuss</link-->
<!-- use for docbook <5.0 -->
<ulink url="https://lists.linux-foundation.org/mailman/listinfo/fhs-discuss">
https://lists.linux-foundation.org/mailman/listinfo/fhs-discuss</ulink>
</para>

</section>

<section id='backgroundOfTheFhs'><title>Background of the FHS</title>

<para>The process of developing a standard filesystem hierarchy began
in August 1993 with an effort to restructure the file and directory
structure of Linux.  The FSSTND, a filesystem hierarchy standard
specific to the Linux operating system, was released on February 14,
1994.  Subsequent revisions were released on October 9, 1994 and March
28, 1995.</para>

<para>In early 1995, the goal of developing a more comprehensive
version of FSSTND to address not only Linux, but other UNIX-like
systems was adopted with the help of members of the BSD development
community.  As a result, a concerted effort was made to focus on
issues that were general to UNIX-like systems.  In recognition of this
widening of scope, the name of the standard was changed to Filesystem
Hierarchy Standard or FHS for short.</para>

<para>Volunteers who have contributed extensively to this standard are
listed at the end of this document.  This standard represents a
consensus view of those and other contributors.</para>

<para>Thanks to Network Operations at the University of California at
San Diego, and later to SourceForge, who allowed us to use their 
excellent mailing list servers during earlier phases of development.</para>


</section>

<section id='generalGuidelines'><title>General Guidelines</title>

<para>Here are some of the guidelines that have been used in the development
of this standard:</para>
<itemizedlist spacing="normal" mark="bullet">
<listitem>
<para>Solve technical problems while limiting transitional difficulties.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Make the specification reasonably stable.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Gain the approval of distributors, developers, and other decision-makers
in relevant development groups and encourage their participation.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Provide a standard that is attractive to the implementors of different
UNIX-like systems.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>

</section>

<section id='scope'><title>Scope</title>

<para>This document specifies a standard filesystem hierarchy for FHS
filesystems by specifying the location of files and directories, and
the contents of some system files.</para>

<para>This standard has been designed to be used by system
integrators, package developers, and system administrators in the
construction and maintenance of FHS compliant filesystems.  It is
primarily intended to be a reference and is not a tutorial on how to
manage a conforming filesystem hierarchy.</para>

<para>The FHS grew out of earlier work on FSSTND, a filesystem
organization standard for the Linux operating system.  It builds on
FSSTND to address interoperability issues not just in the Linux
community but in a wider arena including 4.4BSD-based operating
systems.  It incorporates lessons learned in the BSD world and
elsewhere about multi-architecture support and the demands of
heterogeneous networking.</para>

<para>Although this standard is more comprehensive than previous
attempts at filesystem hierarchy standardization, periodic updates may
become necessary as requirements change in relation to emerging
technology.  It is also possible that better solutions to the problems
addressed here will be discovered so that our solutions will no longer
be the best possible solutions.  Supplementary drafts may be released
in addition to periodic updates to this document.  However, a specific
goal is backwards compatibility from one release of this document to
the next.</para>

<para>Comments related to this standard are welcome.  Any comments or
suggestions for changes may be directed to the 
FHS mailing list, or filed as bugs, or both.  
Typographical or grammatical comments should be filed as bugs.
The bugtracker is at
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<!--link xl:href="http://bugs.linuxfoundation.org">http://bugs.linuxfoundation.org</link-->
<!-- use for docbook <5.0 -->
<ulink url="http://bugs.linuxfoundation.org">http://bugs.linuxfoundation.org</ulink>
- use the category FHS.
</para>

<para>Before sending mail to the mailing list it is requested that you
first glance at the mailing list archives to avoid excessive re-discussion
of old topics.</para>

<para>Questions about how to interpret items in this document may
occasionally arise.  If you have need for a clarification, please
contact the FHS mailing list.  Since this standard represents a
consensus of many participants, it is important to make certain that
any interpretation also represents their collective opinion.  For this
reason it may not be possible to provide an immediate response unless
the inquiry has been the subject of previous discussion.</para>

</section>

<section id='acknowledgments'><title>Acknowledgments</title>

<para>The developers of the FHS wish to thank the developers, system
administrators, and users whose input was essential to this standard.
We wish to thank each of the contributors who helped to write,
compile, and compose this standard.</para>

<para>The FHS Group also wishes to thank those Linux developers who
supported the FSSTND, the predecessor to this standard.  If they
hadn't demonstrated that the FSSTND was beneficial, the FHS could
never have evolved.</para>

</section>

<section id='contributors'><title>Contributors</title>

<!-- docbook markup would suggest this form for names:
        <personname>
          <firstname>Jeff</firstname><surname>Licquia</surname>
        </personname>
-->

<informaltable pgwide='0' frame='none'>
  <tgroup cols='3' align='center'>
    <colspec colname='c1'/>
    <colspec colname='c2'/>
    <colspec colname='c3'/>
    <tbody>
      <row>
        <entry align='left'>Brandon S. Allbery</entry>
        <entry align='left'>John A. Martin</entry>
        <entry align='left'>Mike Sangrey</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
        <entry align='left'>Keith Bostic</entry>
        <entry align='left'>Ian McCloghrie</entry>
        <entry align='left'>David H. Silber</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
        <entry align='left'>Drew Eckhardt</entry>
        <entry align='left'>Chris Metcalf</entry>
        <entry align='left'>Thomas Sippel-Dau</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
        <entry align='left'>Rik Faith</entry>
        <entry align='left'>Ian Murdock</entry>
        <entry align='left'>Theodore Ts'o</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
        <entry align='left'>Karl Goetz</entry>
        <entry align='left'>David C. Niemi</entry>
        <entry align='left'>Stephen Tweedie</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
        <entry align='left'>Stephen Harris</entry>
        <entry align='left'>Lennart Poettering</entry>
        <entry align='left'>Fred N. van Kempen</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
        <entry align='left'>Ian Jackson</entry>
        <entry align='left'>Daniel Quinlan</entry>
        <entry align='left'>Bernd Warken</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
        <entry align='left'>Andreas Jaeger</entry>
        <entry align='left'>Eric S. Raymond</entry>
        <entry align='left'>Mats Wichmann</entry>
      </row>
      <row>
        <entry align='left'><personname><firstname>Jeff</firstname><surname>Licquia</surname></personname></entry>
        <entry align='left'><personname><firstname>Rusty</firstname><surname>Russell</surname></personname></entry>
        <entry align='left'><personname><firstname>Christopher</firstname><surname>Yeoh</surname></personname></entry>
      </row>
    </tbody>
  </tgroup>
</informaltable>


</section>
</chapter>
