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.