Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site lsuc.UUCP
Path: utzoo!lsuc!msb
From: msb@lsuc.UUCP (Mark Brader)
Newsgroups: net.news
Subject: "Permanent" Postings and Newsgroup Descriptions
Message-ID: <278@lsuc.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 9-Jan-85 19:56:23 EST
Article-I.D.: lsuc.278
Posted: Wed Jan  9 19:56:23 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 9-Jan-85 21:07:44 EST
References: <459@ukma.UUCP> <10606@watmath.UUCP>
Reply-To: msb@lsuc.UUCP (Mark Brader|LSUC|Toronto)
Organization: Law Society of Upper Canada, Toronto
Lines: 30
Summary: A different implementation is proposed.

jmsellens@watmath.UUCP (John M Sellens) writes:
> I took 2.10.2's readr.c and added two new readnews commands, 'w' and
> 'W' for "what is this group about?".

I think this is an excellent idea and I hope the netnews maintainers
will add some function much like this to the next version (of both
readnews and postnews, preferably).

I would also like to suggest that they add the following implementation
of permanent postings.  Add a new header line:

	Permanent-Name: NETIQUETTE

This would of course be ignored by older software, but the new version
would use it as an instruction to store the file in

	/usr/spool/news/net/announce/newusers/NETIQUETTE

--overwriting any existing version-- rather than in the next numeric
name.  The use of block capitals is to avoid any conflicts with
newsgroup names, but lower case would otherwise do as well.
Of course, each newsgroup should get a permanent file called PURPOSE
or some such, to be retrieved by the new command mentioned above.

Of course, this would require new formats for .newsrc and .active,
but it would not break anything existing, and I think it clearly gives
the functionality desired.

How about it?
Mark Brader