what causes lock files to be created

[jdware]

Hi all,
I am using the Mozilla 1.5 bundle on suse linux 8.2.

Intermitently, when starting up the Mail/Messenger(Thunderbird I presume) a dialog pops up stating the the default profile is locked by another user. By deleting the file ~/.mozilla/default/<funnyencripted name>/lock, I am then able to tell the dialog to go ahead and try again. And voila, everything is groovy.

The other users on the system have their own login's and therefore their own ".mozilla" directories. It doesn't seem likely that another user could create a lock file in my ".mozilla" area.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

john ware
boulder, co