Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site sdcrdcf.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!sdcsvax!sdcrdcf!lwall
From: lwall@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Larry Wall)
Newsgroups: net.news.b
Subject: Re: suggested enhancement to rn
Message-ID: <1502@sdcrdcf.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 28-Nov-84 12:20:59 EST
Article-I.D.: sdcrdcf.1502
Posted: Wed Nov 28 12:20:59 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 30-Nov-84 08:48:46 EST
References: <319@qantel.UUCP> <609@umn-cs.UUCP>
Reply-To: lwall@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Larry Wall)
Distribution: net
Organization: System Development Corp. R+D, Santa Monica
Lines: 48
Summary: 

In article <609@umn-cs.UUCP> woolsey@umn-cs.UUCP (Jeff Woolsey) writes:
>Yes, seeing the same article multiple times in rn has been bugging me,
>too.  The fix I have in mind is somewhat different, though.
>
>Rn knows at all times which newsgroups you have already finished reading.
>If one of the newsgroups listed on the Newsgroups: line is one of those
>which has already been read, assume that the article was seen when that
>newsgroup was read, and do not show it now.

That wouldn't work very well for several reasons:

* People don't necessarily finish one newsgroup before they go on to another.

* New articles can come in after you leave a newsgroup.

* It would be one more thing to do while the poor user is waiting for the
    article to show up on the screen.  The current Xref method has the virtue
    that the processing happens while the user is presumably reading the end
    of the article.

On top of which, the code is already all there to do it.  To the best of
my knowledge, the Xref code in rn is bug-free.  If you can simply get your
inews to insert header lines of the form:

Xref: YourSiteName NewsgroupName:ArticleNumber NewsgroupName:ArticleNumber...

you are home free.  If the Xref line is entirely missing, check to see that
you installed the Xref patch in inews.c, header.c, and header.h.  Check to
see that everything making up inews/rnews got recompiled--some early
Makefiles don't recompile ifuncs.  Make sure inews and especially rnews got
re-installed.  Make sure there aren't old copies of rnews lying about in
other directories that might inadvertently be getting run when news shows up.

If your site name is missing from the Xref line, or does not agree with
the site name known by rn, rn will ignore the line.  To discover rn's idea
of the sitename, type /<esc>H.

If you are running 2.10.1, make sure you've seen bug#5.

Make sure that you really are seeing duplicate articles, and not
multiply-posted articles.  The message ID's should match.

Those of you seeing duplicate articles: be assured that most sites that have
installed the Xref patch do not see duplicate articles.  Entertain the notion
that you blew it somehow.  If you discover that I blew it, let me know.

Larry Wall
{allegra,burdvax,cbosgd,hplabs,ihnp4,sdcsvax}!sdcrdcf!lwall