Path: utzoo!mnetor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!emory!att!watmath!maytag!xenitec!edhew
From: edhew@xenitec.on.ca (Ed Hew)
Newsgroups: news.software.b
Subject: Re: Need help with CNews expire (Urgent!)
Keywords: expire, find
Message-ID: <1990Sep05.045723.5210@xenitec.on.ca>
Date: 5 Sep 90 04:57:23 GMT
References: <3087@medusa.informatik.uni-erlangen.de>
Reply-To: edhew@xenitec.UUCP (Ed Hew)
Followup-To: news.software.b
Distribution: news
Organization: XeniTec Consulting Services, Kitchener, ON, Canada
Lines: 27

In article <3087@medusa.informatik.uni-erlangen.de> asklingl@medusa.informatik.uni-erlangen.de (Andreas Klingler) writes:
>Well allmost all. Expire expires only some articles for which it is
>now time to go away but leaves the ones mentioned in the mail
>(and all older ones) alone. So my news-partition if filling up with
>old articles. -> HELP!!!
>	Andy

Totally aside from Henry's (very valid) comment on ownership of
the news spool hierarchy, we run the following crontabs line from
the root crontabs file, "just in case" (be *very* careful of the
directory source point):

40 5 * * 1	find /usr/spool/news -ctime 60 -print -exec rm {} \; |mail -s "rm mouldy news" sys

If you're not running SCO UNIX (with it's C2 level security turned
on) as we are, then you can probably do it from the uid=news
crontabs file (preferable).

Note that on our site in the months since we put this line in,
I don't recall that it's ever actually found anything to rm,
but it may help you as an emergency measure (adjusted to whatever
ageing factor you desire).  Also, this suggestion doesn't solve
your actual problem, merely alleviates the symptoms.

  Ed. A. Hew      SCO Authorized Instructor      XeniTec Consulting Services
  edhew@xenitec.on.ca  | ..!{watmath|lsuc}!xenitec!edhew   |  (519) 570-9848
	   (sco.opendesktop newsgroup <=> mlist gateway maintainer)