Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!cmcl2!kramden.acf.nyu.edu!brnstnd
From: brnstnd@kramden.acf.nyu.edu (Dan Bernstein)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.admin
Subject: Re: Program to log off idle users
Message-ID: <25062:Oct1823:04:5190@kramden.acf.nyu.edu>
Date: 18 Oct 90 23:04:51 GMT
References: <1990Oct10.180836.12313@sci.ccny.cuny.edu> <11077:Oct1721:21:2390@kramden.acf.nyu.edu> <1990Oct18.135619.2393@cs.utk.edu>
Organization: IR
Lines: 14

In article <1990Oct18.135619.2393@cs.utk.edu> Dave Sill <de5@ornl.gov> writes:
> I don't think it's as simple as that, Dan.  If I'm sitting on my
> workstation with active xterms to various systems, what's dangerous
> about one or more of those connections being idle?

Hm? Nothing at all. It's the client's responsibility to handle timeouts.
The client knows if it's sitting under an already idle-protected
session and can behave appropriately.

I imagine a TELNET option like ``WILL IDLE'' telling the server that the
client can handle timeouts. The server will only bother handling idle
if the option isn't negotiated. Your xterm client will negotiate it.

---Dan