Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!sequent!mntgfx!apcipdx!rwl
From: rwl@apcipdx (Rob Lucke)
Newsgroups: news.misc
Subject: CNEWS question
Message-ID: <1989Sep15.175314.17851@apcipdx>
Date: 15 Sep 89 17:53:14 GMT
Organization: se
Lines: 39


  Since I lacked challenge in my occupation :-) I decided to start a USENET
feed on our local network.  I was not disappointed, in that CNEWS immediately
provided me with a mystery to solve.  

  EXPIRE started leaving me little messages of the form:

    expire problem:
     error: no slash in article path 'comp.sys.'

  My disk began to fill up, since the expiration program apparently gave up
after this error.  I enabled debug on the expiration process, producing a
14Mb (!) mail message to myself.  Grepping around in this led me to a line
in the history file that read:

    <2598@iscuva.ISCS.COM> 619500634~- comp.sys.195006~- rec.arts.tv.soaps/7842
                                       ^^^^^^^^^

This line format was obviously at odds with what was SUPPOSED to be there.  I
therefore rebuilt the entire history database, which solved the problem.  Being
the curious type, I now would like to know WHY this happened.

  Would some kind soul please let me know if I found a bug, did something
wrong, or am suffering from delusions?  I don't want to have to keep rebuilding
the history database (a 5-7 hour process) continually.

/*--------------------------------------*------------------------------------*/
/* Rob Lucke             (503) 641-6948 * "Ignorance simplifies ANY problem" */
/* Apollo, a subsidiary of HP           *    R. Lucke                        */
/* 8305 SW Creekside Pl., Suite 'D'     *                                    */
/* Beaverton, OR 97005                  *                                    */
/* tektronix!{mntgfx,tessi}!apcipdx!rwl *                                    */
/*                                      *                                    */
/*--------------------------------------*------------------------------------*/
-- 
/*--------------------------------------*------------------------------------*/
/* Rob Lucke             (503) 641-6948 * "Ignorance simplifies ANY problem" */
/* Apollo, a subsidiary of HP           *    R. Lucke                        */
/* 8305 SW Creekside Pl., Suite 'D'     *                                    */