@end table
Following the permission bits is a single character that specifies
-whether an alternate access method applies to the file. When that
-character is a space, there is no alternate access method. When it
-is a printing character (e.g., @samp{+}), then there is such a method.
+whether an alternate access method such as an access control list
+applies to the file. When the character following the permissions is a
+space, there is no alternate access method. When it is a printing
+character, then there is such a method.
+
+For a file with an extended access control list, a @samp{+} character is
+listed. Basic access control lists are equivalent to the permissions
+listed, and are not considered an alternate access method.
@item -n
@itemx --numeric-uid-gid
@table @samp
@itemx mode
-Preserve the permission attributes.
+Preserve the permission attributes, including access control lists.
@itemx ownership
Preserve the owner and group. On most modern systems,
only the super-user may change the owner of a file, and regular users
@itemx all
Preserve all file attributes.
Equivalent to specifying all of the above.
-@c Mention ACLs here.
@end table
Using @option{--preserve} with no @var{attribute_list} is equivalent