Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!rutgers!ho95e!homxb!ihnp4!cbosgd!mandrill!hal!ncoast!allbery From: allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) Newsgroups: news.software.b,news.admin Subject: Re: Cross posting to unwanted newsgroups Message-ID: <4827@ncoast.UUCP> Date: Fri, 9-Oct-87 18:25:43 EDT Article-I.D.: ncoast.4827 Posted: Fri Oct 9 18:25:43 1987 Date-Received: Mon, 12-Oct-87 05:23:23 EDT References: <1651@killer.UUCP> <2700@tekgvs.TEK.COM> Reply-To: allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) Followup-To: news.software.b Organization: Cleveland Public Access UN*X, Cleveland, Oh Lines: 51 Xref: mnetor news.software.b:842 news.admin:1148 As quoted from <2701@vdsvax.steinmetz.UUCP> by barnett@vdsvax.steinmetz.UUCP (Bruce G Barnett): +--------------- | Another idea: perhaps Rev C news, ( or next version of RN) should | stress the idea of primary newsgroup (i.e. the first newsgroup in the | list). I use savenews (aka keepnews) to archive articles, and it only | stores one copy under the first newsgroup on the newsgroup line. +--------------- Agreed. It would also help the following, which I repost periodically as a service to the net.... LIMITING THE PROPAGATION OF NEWS TO INAPPROPRIATE NEWSGROUPS Quite often, someone posts an article to a wide range of newsgroups (usually the subject of the article warrants such crossposting), and many replies are generated; but the replies don't belong in more than one or two of the original newsgroups. Since the Followup-To: line defaults to the contents of the Newsgroups: line, the replies end up all over the place. My solution was to teach "rn" to limit the Followup-To: line automatically. The following line, added to /usr/lib/news/rn/RNINIT (or wherever you hide your RNINIT file) will automatically limit the Followup-To: list to the first newsgroup in the Newsgroups: line, and works on both replies and new articles. I've been using it for over a year without any problems. The line below is "split" for the benefit of mailers/inews'es which have line length limits. Delete the `\' character at the end of each line and join the lines together without spaces between them (from vi, type the commands "$xJx" at the end of each line except the last one) and place the result in your system-wide RNINIT file. -ENEWSHEADER="Newsgroups: %F\\nSubject: Re: %S\\nReferences: %R\\n\ Reply-To: %L@%H.UUCP (%N)\\nFollowup-To: %(%F=^\\([^,]*\\),.*$?%1:%F)\\n\ Distribution: %D\\nOrganization: %o\\n\\n" WARNING: IF YOU ARE AN INTERNET SITE OR ARE REGISTERED WITH THE UUCP PROJECT, THE Reply-To: LINE ABOVE IS INCORRECT AND MUST BE CHANGED TO REFLECT YOUR PROPER DOMAIN. As this RNINIT line is invoked on every posting, it should limit the number of followups to inappropriate groups generated by new articles. As it also is invoked on followups, it will help to curb the propagation of inappropriate followups to existing articles posted without this feature. Yours for a better net, -- Brandon S. Allbery, moderator of comp.sources.misc {{harvard,mit-eddie}!necntc,well!hoptoad,sun!mandrill!hal}!ncoast!allbery ARPA: necntc!ncoast!allbery@harvard.harvard.edu Fido: 157/502 MCI: BALLBERY <> "...he calls _that_ a `little adventure'?!" - Cmdr. Ryker