In issue
#1269780 →
, currently titled "Remove symlinks option from .htaccess" it was decided after lengthy discussion to remove the "Option +FollowSymLinks" from the .htaccess file, which was present in D6 and D7 versions. This has caused a regression for a different group of users in D8.
The original change was made to accommodate shared hosting providers, many of which now require SymLinksIfOwnerMatch instead of FollowSymLinks, to suit their security concerns.
This has caused a regression in at least one major Linux distribution, OpenSuse, which will not allow the D8 installer to run without one of the SymLinks options present in .htaccess - either FollowSymLinks or SymLinksIfOwnerMatch.
The error messages produced on screen in the original problem with FollowSymLinks and in this regression with neither option are very unhelpful and risk putting off newcomers to Drupal, and wasting considerable time of those who should know better. The messages logged in the system log are correct and helpful, but the onscreen messages do not lead there easily.
We now have three possibilities for the symlink option at initial installation:
- +FollowSymLinks - This will prevent numerous people on shared hosting from installing
-
- +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch - I don't think we have found anyone who cannot do the initial install with this option
Changes made to .htaccess are overwritten by version updates, which can be a problem in many different situations, so that updating, as opposed to installation, is a slightly different problem. In the previous issue it was established that only a very few people with complex setups will need +FollowSymLinks. They are likely to be expert users who can look after their own versions of .htaccess and backup / restore as needed when updating core. It is really disheartening to less skilled users to have severe errors when installing the bare application and we should prevent that happening. At present we only know of OpenSuse causing problems but it is too early in D8's release to know that others will not affected.
We should use +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch in the supplied version of .htaccess and alter documentation to suit.