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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!vax135!petsd!peora!jer
From: jer@peora.UUCP (J. Eric Roskos)
Newsgroups: net.mail
Subject: Re: Standardising the "postmaster" concept
Message-ID: <1600@peora.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 9-Sep-85 09:03:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: peora.1600
Posted: Mon Sep  9 09:03:40 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 11-Sep-85 05:34:27 EDT
References: <426@mungunni.OZ>
Organization: Perkin-Elmer SDC, Orlando, Fl.
Lines: 24

> I wonder if there is sufficient support for organising a standard user
> like the existing "postmaster" on some Unix Systems, which will enable people
> to find out the login id of others.
>       ...
> Any thoughts?

We currently use the name "ns" for that purpose. "postmaster" goes to a
human user. "ns" goes to a program that reads the message (it assumes that
the message consists simply of the name of the person who the user ID is
being requested for) and composes a reply consisting of the output from the
"finger" command given the message line as an argument with the "short"
switch to prevent other information from being supplied (project, etc).  It
would be better to have a program like the CSnet nameserver to which you
can choose to post or not post your personal information; our program
currently restricts the number of queries a person can make, and logs all
its activity, to detect abuse.

PS - "ns" = "Name Server".  It is not particularly mnemonic; my main point
was that a separate name from "postmaster" should be used.
-- 
Shyy-Anzr:  J. Eric Roskos
UUCP:       ..!{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!vax135!petsd!peora!jer
US Mail:    MS 795; Perkin-Elmer SDC;
	    2486 Sand Lake Road, Orlando, FL 32809-7642