Aim:
I want to start the roundup-server as a regular user.

Procedure:
The command line I use is:

"roundup-server -n surf -p 9001 -l roundup.log -d 
roundup.pid first=/home/brand/tracker"

Result:
The server writes the process id in the pidfile in my 
home directory (as expected), but then silently dies 
without any indication to the shell or logfile.

It appears that when the -d option is used, the server 
first does a change working directory to "/" before trying 
to write the log file. While I do not have a write 
permission to "/", the server dies. However no indication 
is given because the stdout, stderr and stdin are disbled 
by then.

Work Around:
Specify the log file with a fullpath to a location with write 
permission, like

"roundup-server -n surf -p 9001 -
l /home/brand/roundup.log -d roundup.pid 
first=/home/brand/tracker"

This is not necessary for the pid file, the pid file is 
written before the change of working directory.