I was really hoping for something that actually explained the history behind PAM and why it is the way it is, because PAM doesn't really make a whole heck of a

I was really hoping for something that actually explained the history behind PAM and why it is the way it is, because PAM doesn't really make a whole heck of a lot of sense - usually when that's the case, understanding the context it was developed in goes a long way to explaining why it was done the way it was. Definitely not what this article was, though.