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From: dhesi@bsu-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Suppressing the message of the day.
Message-ID: <611@bsu-cs.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 15-May-87 19:50:29 EDT
Article-I.D.: bsu-cs.611
Posted: Fri May 15 19:50:29 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 17-May-87 00:59:29 EDT
References: <15452@brunix.UUCP> <1506@uwmacc.UUCP> <1100@sigi.Colorado.EDU>
Reply-To: dhesi@bsu-cs.UUCP (Rahul Dhesi)
Organization: CS Dept, Ball St U, Muncie, Indiana
Lines: 20

In numerous articles, numerous users discuss the message of the day.
For 4.3BSD and 4.2BSD sites, I have a suggestion for all system
administrators:

     get rid of your /etc/motd

It is a waste of time to show the same worn-out message to users
every time they log in.  After a while, they will stop reading it,
and won't notice when it changes and actually shows them something
they need to know.

Instead, have each user execute "msgs -f" utility, which shows each
message only once.  This is simply done by putting that line into
the .login or .profile file when a new user account is created.

System V has a "news" program that works similarly.

Don't cry wolf.
-- 
Rahul Dhesi         UUCP:  {ihnp4,seismo}!{iuvax,pur-ee}!bsu-cs!dhesi