start or startserv script "--shell" option

What is the point of the "--shell" option (executes /bin/sh) in the WS instance start scripts? It's one more thing to lock down when granting instance start-up with sudo.
[178 byte] By [jesspdx] at [2007-11-26 9:22:57]
# 1
The --shell option sets the environment variables necessary to run the server without actually starting the server.
elving at 2007-7-6 23:56:48 > top of Java-index,Web & Directory Servers,Web Servers...