Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site watcgl.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!watcgl!dmmartindale
From: dmmartindale@watcgl.UUCP (Dave Martindale)
Newsgroups: net.news.group
Subject: Re: New newgroup suggestion--Re: Permanent Postings
Message-ID: <845@watcgl.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Dec-84 11:44:35 EST
Article-I.D.: watcgl.845
Posted: Thu Dec 20 11:44:35 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Dec-84 01:13:34 EST
References: <33@angband.UUCP> <729@watdcsu.UUCP>  <165@unc.UUCP> <17976@lanl.ARPA> <3176@alice.UUCP> <6662@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Reply-To: dmmartindale@watcgl.UUCP (Dave Martindale)
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 19

In article <6662@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) writes:
>This request brings up a concept I have long felt is needed in many news 
>groups -- permanent postings. There are things that occur recurringly in
>practically every group, which should sit on each host as postings numbered
>1 through 10 or something, never expire, and be viewed by each newcomer
>when they start reading news and when they subscribe to or begin reading that 
>particular group.
>
Will then lists a set of potential problems with this.  There is another one,
though, that he didn't mention.  Older versions of news used a fixed-size
bitmap to keep track of unread articles, limiting the maximum possible article
number to some value.  2.10.2 news has changed the algorithm so that the
first bit in the bitmap corresponds to the first unexpired article, meaning
that there is only a limit on the difference between the smallest and
largest article number.  As long as all articles expire on a regular basis,
this works fine.  But if you have a low-numbered article that never expires,
readnews will eventually overflow the bitmap and blow up.  When I installed
2.10.2 on machines at Waterloo, I had to remove several such articles.
Fixing this will require a change in the bitmap algorithms.