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Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watnot!watmath!clyde!rutgers!husc6!Diamond!mlandau
From: mlandau@Diamond.UUCP
Newsgroups: news.misc
Subject: Re: more on multiple .signatures
Message-ID: <4678@slate.Diamond.BBN.COM>
Date: Wed, 11-Mar-87 16:09:26 EST
Article-I.D.: slate.4678
Posted: Wed Mar 11 16:09:26 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 12-Mar-87 20:14:45 EST
References: <306@unisoft.UUCP> <967@epimass.UUCP>
Reply-To: mlandau@Diamond.BBN.COM (Matt Landau)
Distribution: na
Organization: BBN Laboratories, Inc., Cambridge, MA
Lines: 27
Summary: I suspect it's the 4-line limit in 2.11

In news.misc (<967@epimass.UUCP>), jbuck@epimass.UUCP (Joe Buck) writes:
> [Re: all those "Oops, that article didn't include my signature" articles]
>
>This is not a new problem.  Inews runs as user "news".  If your
>signature does not appear, it's probably because user "news" can't
>read your .signature file.  

I suspect another component of the problem is the news 2.11 requirement that
a .signature file be <= 4 lines long in order for it to be included automatically.
The goal was to cut down on the number of articles consisting of 5 lines of
content and 20 lines of signature, a worthy goal indeed.  (I *hate* extremely
long, stupid signatures full of cute drawings!  Once you've seen them the
first time, they're just annoying noise, especially at 1200 baud!)

Unfortunately, the net has found a way around the restriction.  Now instead of
gettings lots of articles with 5 lines of content and 20 lines of signature, we
get articles with NO lines of content and 20 lines of signature.  For God's sake 
people, will you just STOP IT? 

As a relatively famous comic book vigilante might put it:
	You know what I wish?  I wish all the people who post 20 line 
	signatures to the net had one throat, and I had my hands around it.
								-- Rorschach
-- 
 Matt Landau      	 		BBN Laboratories, Inc.
    mlandau@diamond.bbn.com		10 Moulton Street, Cambridge MA 02238
 ...seismo!diamond.bbn.com!mlandau      (617) 497-2429