Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!ginosko!uunet!mcsun!ukc!stc!datlog!news
From: news@datlog.co.uk (news service)
Newsgroups: news.software.b
Subject: Setnewsids & friends: Xenix
Message-ID: <1989Sep7.121749.26502@datlog.co.uk>
Date: 7 Sep 89 12:17:49 GMT
Organization: Data Logic
Lines: 34

Apologies if this has already been raised.
After having worked on trying to get an ordinary (i.e. non super user,
and non news account ) to write out using postnews I wonder what the
secret is.

Problem:
Ordinary lackey wants to send news.
Invokes postnews, and writes article.
Postnews calls inews, which munges headers etc, and then
calls relaynews.
Relaynews fails because it will not change its operating id to news.

Attempted solutions:
Setting sid bit on relaynews.
Setting up setnewsids with root priviledge, with sid bit set.

Findings:
Regardless of all changes, the call from inews to relaynews does not
run relaynews as either news or root.

Curiosities:
relaynews run from the command line works ok (the user id is as expected)
relaynews run from a shell script works ok (we had thought maybe the sid did
not work when called from a shell script - but no, all hunky dory).
BUT: running relaynews from within inews, which is also a shell script FAILS.

Environment:
Xenix (SCO 2.3.1) with the Bourne shell.
Only one patch - others not seen yet.

I am extremely curious about what is wrong - and will be more than
delighted to learn what the problem is.
Thanks in anticipation,
Mike