Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!bionet!ames!uhccux!munnari.oz.au!comp.vuw.ac.nz!windy!gpwd!gpwrdcs
From: GPWRDCS@gp.govt.nz (Don Stokes, GPO)
Newsgroups: news.software.anu-news
Subject: Re: Rename newsgroups?
Message-ID: <98@gp.govt.nz>
Date: 4 Aug 89 04:02:47 GMT
References: <ANU-NEWS%89072313295703@NDSUVM1> <6342@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>
Organization: Government Printing Office, Wellington, New Zealand
Lines: 72

In article <6342@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>, SLOANE@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Bob Sloane) writes:
> 
> I haven't actually tried this, but how about creating an alias that maps to
> old group to the new group in NEWS.ALIASES and then doing:
> 
> NEWS> CREATE NEWSGROUP new.group/LOCAL
> NEWS> ADD FILE/RETRY NEWS_DEVICE:[old.group]*.ITM
> NEWS> DELETE NEWSGROUP old.group

We had to do something like that here, although for different reasons.
Somebody here (not mentioning any names, eh Martin!) left a minor bug in
the NEWSSKIM command file after upgrading to V5.8 that blew both
NEWS.ITEMS and NEWS.GROUPS files to Kingdom Come.  Result, a directory
tree full of newsitems, but no news. 

We thought that just ADDing [...]*.ITM would fix it, but alas, no. 
The message path in the item files *includes* the local node, resulting 
in a path loop on every message, and subsequent rejection.  The following 
routine was used to fix up the mess (we keep it around, just in case):

------------------FIX_NEWS.README---Cut-at-dotted-line-------------------
To run this (after news as gone belly up due to loss of NEWS.ITEMS and/or
NEWS.GROUPS): 

Delete NEWS.ITEMS and NEWS.GROUPS files.

Rename all item top level directories from NEWS_DEVICE:[000000]*.DIR to
[NEWSBCK]. 

Run NEWS and get past the licensing info (creates news versions of 
files), and exit back to DCL

Run the command file.  Run in batch - this will take a long time.

Delete [NEWSBCK...]*.* after checking log file.

Pray that it doesn't happen again.
-------------------------End-of-FIX_NEWS.README--------------------------

--------------------FIX_NEWS.COM---Cut-at-dotted-line--------------------
$       set verify
$	set process/privilege=(bypass,exquota)
$	on warning then exit
$ loop:
$	file = f$search("[newsbck.*...]*.itm")
$	if file .eqs. "" then goto add_items
$	file = f$element(0, ";", file)
$	edit/edt/nocommand 'file'
set search exact
find "Path: "
substitute/Path: gpwd!/Path: /  ! gpwd is our node name
exit
$	purge/keep=1 'file'
$	goto loop
$ add_items:
$	news := $NEWS_ROOT:[news]NEWS
$	news/noscreen
add file [newsbck.*...]*.ITM/cregroup
exit
$	exit
---------------------------End-of-FIX_NEWS.COM---------------------------

Note that after doing this, all news is marked as arriving at the time of 
the run.  This tends to freak the newsgroup expiry a little - watch the 
disk usage steadily climb, and then shrink dramatically as the newsgroup 
expiry nails all the messages re-added by this procedure!

Don Stokes, Systems Programmer    /  /   Domain:                  don@gp.govt.nz
Government Printing Office,      /GP/   PSImail:          PSI%0530147000028::DON
Wellington, New Zealand         /  /   UUCP:  ...!munnari!vuwcomp!windy!gpwd!don
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Any program will expand to fill all available memory.