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