Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!umich!itivax!vax3!scs
From: scs@vax3.iti.org (Steve Simmons)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.elm
Subject: Re: Local and remote signatures - a solution(?)
Summary: Personal vs site considerations
Keywords: signatures
Message-ID: <1444@itivax.iti.org>
Date: 5 Jun 89 13:19:56 GMT
References: <398@sirius.ua.oz> <581@tiamat.fsc.com> <1430@itivax.iti.org> <589@tiamat.fsc.com>
Sender: news@itivax.iti.org
Reply-To: scs@vax3.iti.org (Steve Simmons)
Organization: Industrial Technology Institute
Lines: 31

In article <589@tiamat.fsc.com> jim@tiamat.fsc.com (Jim O'Connor) writes:
>In article <1430@itivax.iti.org>, scs@vax3.iti.org (Steve Simmons) writes:
>> Suppose we have the following rules for pattern matching: first look in
>> the users .elm/local-users file.  If a definitive match is not found,
>> look in /usr/local/lib/elm (or wherever you install the elm helpfiles
>> and such) for a local-users file.  Reasonable?
>
>If users become dependent on the system-wide file though, then everytime
>a user starts corresponding with someone from a new site or domain that he
>or she would like to be considered 'local', the user will call me and ask
>why it isn't working right, and if I would fix it so it will.  Thus, the
>burden will end up on me. (Remember, they don't care about their own
>local-users file, so it won't do any good to tell them to edit that.)

No disrepect inteneded, but you are doing yourself and your users a
disservice if you do as you describe.  First, adding the particular
site to the 'local' list may help that particular user, but will give
`wrong' performance for other users sending to that system.  Second,
you must make it clear to the user requesting the change that he is
requesting a *personal* modification which will affect *all* users, and
you will not do that without the agreement of all users.  Third, you
must let the user know that *he* can customize his performance.  Once
you have done all these you have put the onus of making the personal
customization on the user.  Yes, he may refuse to do so.  If he's like
my users he'll give you grief.  But that's a political/social issue with
your users, and should not affect what technical decisions are made about
elm.

Steve Simmons            Just another midwestern boy
scs@vax3.iti.org   -- or --   ...!sharkey!itivax!scs
"Who the hell is Gloria Mundi, and why is she sick?"