Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!aplcen!wb3ffv!ka3ovk!raysnec!shwake
From: shwake@raysnec.UUCP (Ray Shwake)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386
Subject: Re: SCO doesn't sell UNIX
Message-ID: <165@raysnec.UUCP>
Date: 3 Dec 90 16:52:43 GMT
References: <1990Nov23.080906.24510@robobar.co.uk> <27519123.34A2@tct.uucp> <1990Nov29.205938.3671@digibd.com> <1990Dec1.225346.16828@NCoast.ORG> <1990Dec02.213409.17190@ka3ovk.irs.GOV>
Organization: IRS/CI - Technical Solutions Branch
Lines: 21

brown@ka3ovk.irs.GOV (Ken Brown) writes:

>I've got another one.  As part of SysV, AT&T in their infinite wisdom
>decided to move the mail spool directory from /usr/spool/mail to
>/usr/lib/mail.  Seemed like a strange move to me, with no obvious benefits
>but, hey, it was their baby.  They can do as they wish.

	The mail spool directory back in the Version VII and, if I'm not
mistaken System III, days *was* in /usr/spool/mail. Since at least System V
it's been in /usr/mail, and *still is* for ISC UNIX and, if I'm not mistaken,
AT&T UNIX 386.

>SCO comes along and decides to move it back to /usr/spool/mail.  This means
>that it is no longer safe to install mailers on SCO systems since the
>install programs will assume that SCO is SysV UNIX and default to the
>SysV standard.

	Both SCO Xenix and SCO UNIX have *always* used /usr/spool/mail.
Sun and many BSD-based systems have followed that same convention. Perhaps
once Intel, ATT, ISC and SCO get together on the next UNIX 386 binary
standard they will clear up these and other subtle differences.