Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!cse!rduff
From: rduff@cse.uta.edu (Robert Duff)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Why is finger so stupid?
Message-ID: <1991May1.140438.21171@cse.uta.edu>
Date: 1 May 91 14:04:38 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Engineering Univ. of Texas at Arlington
Lines: 16


I have noticed that almost every UNIX machine in the world has a problem
with the amount of time a user has been logged in.  Very regularly,
finger reports that someone has been logged in for 147 days!  I know that
can't be true because the machine was only booted 25 minutes ago!
At first I thought that this was a quirk of our SPARC station, but then
I noticed it on our NeXT as well.  After fingering several people I know
at various other sites, the problem seems fairly wide spread.

Any idea what's wrong?

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                           -- Randy Stonehill | rduff@cse.uta.edu