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From: gds@mit-eddie.MIT.EDU (Greg Skinner)
Newsgroups: net.news.group
Subject: Re: New newsgroup proceedures: we can decentralize
Message-ID: <1334@mit-eddie.MIT.EDU>
Date: Wed, 19-Mar-86 16:05:24 EST
Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.1334
Posted: Wed Mar 19 16:05:24 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Mar-86 05:49:05 EST
References: <5075@alice.uUCp> <3326@sun.uucp> <1195@mit-eddie.MIT.EDU> <635@hoptoad.uucp>
Organization: MIT Lusers and Hosers Inc., Cambridge, Ma.
Lines: 44

[line-eater chow]

In article <635@hoptoad.uucp>, gnu@hoptoad.uucp (John Gilmore) writes:

> BTW, I think removing net-wide "rmgroup" is a great idea.  Of course,
> it should be replaced by a control message which causes the local site
> to forward the article to "usenet" via email, so there is a way to tell
> every site admin (in their morning mail) about news administration
> things.  This is a little stronger than net.news.sa (how many people
> read netnews before mail, or put net.news.sa first in their .newsrc?)
> and should be used with more discretion, of course -- but at least it
> tends to decentralize control of the usenet while maintaining
> communication among the controllers.

I agree, and while we're at it, let's remove "newgroup" also.  Replace
them both with a control message which generates mail to "usenet",
saying "group net.boo.bar has been {new,rm}grouped by <path> -- you
may take appropriate action.  No reason that because a group has been
{new.rm}grouped somewhere that I should believe it, or that I should
listen if it was done by a backbone administrator -- the group may be
limited to a certain geographical area (temporarily) but the name or
location in the file system of the group shouldn't have to change.

> This is an OPTION in current netnews software.  If you haven't turned
> off automatic RMGROUP at *your* site, remake the news software with
> MANUALLY #define'd.  See the instructions for building the news
> software.
> -- 

I may be mistaken, but I checked out the 2.10 distribution kit and it
says that MANUALLY only inhibits the removal of the directory
(assuming it is removable by news) and removes the newsgroup from the
active file, only.  This may only be available in the latest versions
of news (2.10.3) but NONEWGROUPS can be defined along with MANUALLY to
inhibit creation of new groups.  If you don't have a latest version of
news you'll have to hack inews to do it -- it should only involve
disabling the part of the code that creates the directories, etc.

-- 
It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under.

Greg Skinner (gregbo)
{decvax!genrad, allegra, gatech, ihnp4}!mit-eddie!gds
gds@eddie.mit.edu