Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!dino!sharkey!itivax!scs
From: scs@itivax.iti.org (Steve Simmons)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.elm
Subject: Re: Suggestion for next Elm release
Keywords: finger elm
Message-ID: <3832@itivax.iti.org>
Date: 20 Sep 89 12:42:50 GMT
References: <291@van-bc.UUCP>
Organization: Industrial Technology Institute, Ann Arbor, MI.
Lines: 21

sl@van-bc.UUCP (Stuart Lynne) writes:

>How about adding a finger command to elm?
>[details about how it would look to the user]

>This would allow you to receive a message and quickly find out if the person
>who sent it is still in his office, logged in, etc. This can help you set
>priorities. For example if someone has asked for some important information
>you can find out if they are online. If they are you try and get it to them
>quickly. If not you can put it aside temporarily.

I think this is overkill and non-portable.  On hosts which support
the finger command already, the keystrokes !finger will do what you
want.  On machines that don't have finger we'd have to re-implement
it (which has already been done in various forms).  Elm is a mail
reading tool, not a systems/user inquiry tool.  Leave fingerint to
the finger command.
-- 
Steve Simmons		          scs@vax3.iti.org
Industrial Technology Institute     Ann Arbor, MI.
"Velveeta -- the Spam of Cheeses!" -- Uncle Bonsai