Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!fps!brodie
From: brodie@fps.mcw.edu
Newsgroups: news.software.anu-news
Subject: Re: "requestable" control messages
Message-ID: <3220.253eea6f@fps.mcw.edu>
Date: 20 Oct 89 14:50:39 GMT
References: <8910191344.AA12187@uunet.uu.net>
Organization: Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Lines: 35

In article <8910191344.AA12187@uunet.uu.net>, munnari!csc.anu.oz.au!gih900@UUNET.UU.NET (Geoff Huston) writes:

>      
> I've got to agree with BOb on this one - the uuname response from VMS is a null
> response - the version and sendsys responses are also automatic with the
> relevant information.
>      
> I must admit that my view is that the provision of this information is a
> component of being a member of USENET, and that an automatic response is far
> more painless than sending yet another mail item to the local system manager to
> forward.... but like anything else in software these code decisions of mine are
> not cast in stone.... You can modify the posting code in NEWSADD.C to post the
> mail to the local senet address rather than the original poster in your version
> of NEWS... I would need a fair deal of response to change this default action
> in the distributed code as I'm sure that the majority of sys managers would
> find the automatic handling of these control postings a positive rather than a
> negative aspect of NEWS.
>      
> Geoff Huston

ok, i guess I do agree with those points.   But how about letting the system
manager (news manager) KNOW that a reply was indeed sent?   Other news systems
do this-

"Copy of NEWS.SYS file sent to brodie@fps.mcw.edu in reply to sendsys"

...or something of that nature.    I guess that automatic responses to control
messages are great, but how about letting the news manager KNOW about it?
("cancel" messages excluded, of course)
-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kent C. Brodie - Systems Manager		brodie@mcw.edu
Medical College of Wisconsin			+1 414 778 4500

"Gee, I hope these are the right coordinates..."  -Chief O'Brian; STTNG