Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!uflorida!mephisto!rutgers!umn-d-ub!cs.umn.edu!thelake!steve From: steve@thelake.mn.org (Steve Yelvington) Newsgroups: news.newusers.questions Subject: Re: old news Message-ID: Date: 19 Feb 90 08:00:42 GMT References: <50943@sgi.sgi.com> <13956@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> Lines: 39 [In article <13956@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>, jskelly@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Jim Kelly) writes ... ] > John Eisenman: >>How can I access older news articles that have expired at my site? > > Christopher Davis: >>There isn't a way to look through expired articles on most groups. > > I've wondered about this question for two years, and this is the > answer I was expecting. Of course. You can't drink a Coca-Cola after the can's been recycled. > Why does the news take pains to give articles > unique ID numbers and keep a "References:" line if the articles can't > be retrieved? The time it takes for a message to expire on any given system depends on how the system is set up. Some keep messages longer than others. In addition to providing data for the References: field, the unique Message-ID enables rnews to throw away duplicate messages. Duplicates sometimes show up if there are loops in the network or if crossposted messages arrive from two directions. For example, a friend of mine gets a graphics newsgroup from midgard.mn.org and comp.sys.atari.st from stag.UUCP. If a message is posted to both groups, he may receive it from stag on Wednesday and from midgard on Thursday. Since the message bears a unique serial number, rnews can recognize this (by keeping a history file) and throw out the duplicate. -- Steve Yelvington at the (thin ice today*) lake in Minnesota UUCP path: ... umn-cs.cs.umn.edu!thelake!steve *16 cars through the ice so far this year! Yes, you, too, can have that sinking feeling....