[plug] Question on Linux system security

[Bret Busby]

After shutting the system down a couple of hours ago, due to a power failure
(Armadale - unstable electricity supply), and after the UPS appeared to have
recovered sufficiently to reboot the computer, I booted the computer, logged
in, ran X-Windows, then I had a problem in trying to load kmail - nothing
happened, so I decided that I should shutdown X-Windows and reboot.

In the (GNOME) panel, is the tv screen, with the moon and the stars, for
logging out of GNOME (shutting down X-Windows). It has 3 options; Logout, Halt
and Reboot. 

For the first time, I thought that I would try the Reboot option.

It actually shut down X-Windows, and, rebooted the system.

I was logged in as a user, not as root.

Should a Linux system reboot be able to be done by a user, rather than by root?
(version: Red Hat 6.2)

Bret Busby
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