[etaioinshrdlu]

Literally the reason why PCs won over mainframes. Users want to run the software they want to run.

If you don't trust your users to run software on your server you probably shouldn't let them on your server in the first place... or else contain and isolate them with a VM or similar.

Multi-user operating systems are feeling a bit like they are going the way of the dodo, to me... That is acutall multi-user systems, not user accounts for system services.

[Annatar]

What do you think powers the InterNet that you're connected to right now? Multiuser systems, running applications under different logins. Even the much hated systemd brought physical multiuser computing back to GNU/Linux.

[etaioinshrdlu]

Yeah, but the user accounts are at the application level not the os level.

I doubt there is a top internet company around that makes a unix account for each web user. That would be an antipattern...

[Annatar]

Search for "free shell accounts". You might be surprised.

[etaioinshrdlu]

It kind of reminds me of shared hosting providers without root access. Sure they exist but really have been overtaken in a big way by virtual private servers... That's what I mean by they seem going out of style.