Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!ames!necntc!rayssd!dhb From: dhb@rayssd.RAY.COM (David H. Brierley) Newsgroups: news.software.b Subject: Re: .signature line limit Message-ID: <851@rayssd.RAY.COM> Date: Thu, 16-Apr-87 12:28:18 EST Article-I.D.: rayssd.851 Posted: Thu Apr 16 12:28:18 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 19-Apr-87 06:28:24 EST References: <1305@msudoc.UUCP> <12703@vuwcomp.UUCP> Sender: dhb@rayssd.RAY.COM (David H. Brierley @ Raytheon Company, Portsmouth RI) Reply-To: dhb@rayssd.RAY.COM (David H. Brierley) Organization: Raytheon Company, Portsmouth RI Lines: 33 In article <12703@vuwcomp.UUCP> newbery@vuwcomp.UUCP (Michael Newbery) writes: >Why not a character limit, say 256? This is actually less than four 80 >character lines but allows more flexibility in my opinion. The aim of the >.signature restriction is to save bytes is it not? I agree with this and also with a comment that Rick Adams made in another article. The network is an anarchy: if you dont like the way the distributed software works, change it! I changed the software at my site to check for a maximum number of characters instead of lines based on the fact that it doesnt cost any more to transmit a carriage return than any other character so why limit you to four carriage returns. On a related topic, I also changed the software to look for a file called .signature.xxxx where xxxx is the distribution, instead of just looking for .signature. This allows people to have a .signature.local file, a .signature.comp, or any other distribution they want. If the file doesn't exist, the program defaults to reading the old .signature file. Going back to Ricks comments, I like the anarchy of the current system. I like being able to say "I dont like the way this program works" and then being able to go in and change it. We have quite a few vendor-supplied programs on the various machines that I support and I always get pissed off when one of them doesn't work the way it should (or the way I want it to) and there is nothing I can do about it. I like to look at the distributed news software as a "model" which is never really finished. -- David H. Brierley Raytheon Submarine Signal Division 1847 West Main Road Portsmouth, RI 02871 Phone: (401)-847-8000 x4073 Internet: dhb@rayssd.ray.com Uucp: {cbosgd, gatech, linus, mirror, necntc, uiucdcs} !rayssd!dhb