Usemod -c "new description" username aborts with the error
usermod: ERROR: username is in use. Cannot change it.
if username is logged in. Since the gecos (description) field is
not neccesary to the operation of the account would like to
remove the check for this case.
In addition, if root logs onto a host and tries to add itself to a secondary group with usermod -G, we see:
UX: usermod: ERROR: root is in use. Cannot change it.
Since only root can change root's user account, this can be annoying .
xxxxx@xxxxx.com 2002-11-07
Work Around
for usermod -G while logged in as root:
1. log in as another user and su to root.
2. use vi to edit /etc/group or admintool, etc., to modify group members.
However this can be more difficult to do if scripting for application scripting
xxxxx@xxxxx.com 2002-11-07