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From: chandran@rd.nttdata.jp
Newsgroups: comp.mail.mh
Subject: FAQ, "scan -reverse," and BERK
Message-ID: <9104080926.AA13072@lotus.rd.nttdata.jp>
Date: 8 Apr 91 09:26:53 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 37


The FAQ includes the following:

> !8.  What options should I use?
>   
>   BERK: Do NOT include the BERK option!  BERK breaks the mh-format
>   functions that take apart address lines, for example mbox, from, and
>   friendly.  This would really put a crimp on my replcomps file.
>   

On my man pages for scan, it says that

     On hosts where MH was configured with the BERK option,  scan
     has two other switches: `-reverse', and `-noreverse'.  These
     make scan list the messages in reverse order.  In  addition,

Now I don't know about you, but I like to see the most recent messages
first, especially when I have 500 plus messages in my inbox folder.
It seems that "scan -reverse" is the only way to get this effect.  The
man pages implies that I must use the BERK option, whereas the FAQ
suggests (insists?) otherwise.
	Where do I go?
	Or did this feature/bug go away in 6.7.1?
	I use
version: MH 6.6 #5[UCI] (lotus) of Mon Oct  1 18:08:20 JST 1990
options: [BSD42] [SUNOS4] [BERK] [TTYD] [DUMB] [MHE] [NETWORK] [BIND]
         [RPATHS] [ATZ] [MHRC] [SBACKUP='"#"'] [SENDMTS] [SMTP]

The man page also go on to make the intriguing remark:

     scan  will update the MH context prior to starting the list-
     ing, so interrupting a long scan listing preserves  the  new
     context.  MH purists hate both of these ideas.

Why do purists hate the second idea (or the first)?  

	Sharat