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1.1 ! root 1: % begin text ! 2: \banner ! 3: \section{Acknowledgements} ! 4: The \MH/ system described herein is based on the original Rand \MH/ system. ! 5: It has been extensively developed (perhaps too much so) by Marshall Rose and ! 6: John Romine at the University of California, Irvine. ! 7: Einar Stefferud, Jerry Sweet, and Terry Domae provided numerous suggestions ! 8: to improve the UCI version of \MH/. ! 9: ! 10: In particular, the UCI BBoards facility, ! 11: which was suggested by Einar Stefferud, ! 12: has been in place at the University of California, Irvine ! 13: (in one form or another) for the last two and one-half years. ! 14: The UCI BBoards facilities runs under both \MMDF/ and {\sf SendMail}, ! 15: and, in a more restricted form, under stand-alone \MH/. ! 16: ! 17: \section{Disclaimer} ! 18: The Regents of the University of California wish to make it known that: ! 19: \bigquote ! 20: Although each program has been tested by its contributor, ! 21: no warranty, express or implied, ! 22: is made by the contributor or the University of California, ! 23: as to the accuracy and functioning of the program ! 24: and related program material, ! 25: nor shall the fact of distribution constitute any such warranty, ! 26: and no responsibility is assumed by the contributor ! 27: or the University of California in connection herewith. ! 28: \endbigquote ! 29: ! 30: \section{Scope} ! 31: This document explains how to use the UCI BBoards facility to a user familiar ! 32: with \MH/ and the \unix/ operating system in general. ! 33: A large degree of expertise is not assumed. ! 34: This document does not attempt to introduce \MH/ to the novice user ! 35: (for that task, consult the \MH/ tutorial known as \cite{MH.TUT}). ! 36: Additional information on the programs discussed here ! 37: (particularly \pgm{bbc\/}) is to be found in \cite{MH}. ! 38: ! 39: \section{Conventions} ! 40: In this document, ! 41: certain \TeX -formatting conventions are adhered to: ! 42: \smallskip ! 43: {\advance\leftskip by\parindent ! 44: \item{1.} The names of \unix/ commands, such as \pgm{comp}, ! 45: are presented in {\it text italics}. ! 46: \item{2.} Arguments to programs, such as \arg{msgs}, ! 47: are presented in {\tt typewriter style} and delimited by single-quotes. ! 48: \item{3.} \unix/ pathnames and envariables, ! 49: such as \file{/usr/uci/} and \file{\$SIGNATURE}, ! 50: are presented in {\sl slanted roman}. ! 51: \item{4.} Text presenting an example, such as ! 52: \example comp\ -editor\ zz\endexample ! 53: is presented in {\tt typewriter style}. ! 54: \smallskip} ! 55: ! 56: \section{Introduction} ! 57: \MH/ is a very powerful message handling system that runs under the \unix/ ! 58: operating system. ! 59: One of the many features which \MH/ offers is an interface to the UCI BBoards ! 60: facility. ! 61: This facility permits the efficient distribution of interest group messages ! 62: on a single host, a group of hosts under a single administration, and the ! 63: ARPA Internet community. ! 64: ! 65: Described simply, a interest group is composed of a number of subscribers ! 66: with a common interest. ! 67: These subscribers post mail to a single address, known as a ! 68: {\it distribution} address. ! 69: From this distribution address, a copy of the message is sent to each ! 70: subscriber. ! 71: Each group has a {\it moderator}, ! 72: which is the person that runs the the group. ! 73: This moderator can usually be reached at a special address, ! 74: known as a {\it request} address. ! 75: Usually, the responsibilities of the moderator are quite simple, ! 76: since the mail system handles the distribution to subscribers automatically. ! 77: In some cases, the interest group, ! 78: instead of being distributed directly to its subscribers, ! 79: is put into a {\it digest} format by the moderator and then sent to the ! 80: subscribers. ! 81: Although this requires more work on the part of the moderator, ! 82: such groups tend to be better organized. ! 83: ! 84: Unfortunately, there are a few problems with the scheme outlined above. ! 85: First, if two users on the same host subscribe to the same interest group, ! 86: two copies of the message get delivered. ! 87: This is wasteful of both processor and disk resources. ! 88: ! 89: Second, ! 90: some of these groups carry a lot of traffic. ! 91: Although subscription to an group does indicate interest on the part of a ! 92: subscriber, ! 93: it is usually not interesting to get $50$ messages or so delivered to ! 94: the user's private maildrop each day, ! 95: interspersed with {\it personal} mail, ! 96: that is likely to be of a much more important and timely nature. ! 97: ! 98: Third, if a subscriber on the distribution list for a group becomes ``bad'' ! 99: somehow, ! 100: the originator of the message and not the moderator of the group is notified. ! 101: It is not uncommon for a large list to have $10$ or so bogus addresses present. ! 102: This results in the originator being flooded with ``error messages'' from ! 103: mailers across the ARPA Internet stating that a given address on the list was ! 104: bad. ! 105: Needless to say, ! 106: the originator usually could not care less if the bogus addresses got a copy ! 107: of the message or not. ! 108: The originator is merely interested in posting a message to the group at large. ! 109: Furthermore, the moderator of the group does care if there are bogus ! 110: addresses on the list, ! 111: but ironically does not receive notification. ! 112: ! 113: To solve all of these problems, ! 114: the UCI BBoards facility introduces a new entity into the picture: ! 115: all interest group mail is handled by a special component of the mail system. ! 116: The distribution address maps to a special {\it channel} that performs ! 117: several actions. ! 118: First, if local delivery is to be performed, ! 119: then a copy of the message is placed in a global maildrop for the interest ! 120: group with a timestamp and a unique number. ! 121: Local users can read messages posted for the interest group by reading the ! 122: file. ! 123: Second, if further distribution is to take place, ! 124: a copy of the message is sent to the distribution address in such a way that ! 125: if any of the addresses are bogus, ! 126: the failure notice is sent to the maintainer of the group and not the ! 127: originator. ! 128: ! 129: This scheme has several advantages: ! 130: First, messages delivered to the host are processed and saved once ! 131: in a globally accessible area. ! 132: The UCI BBoards facility supports software which allows a user to query the ! 133: interest group for new messages and to read those messages in the \MH/-style. ! 134: Second, once a host subscribes to an interest group, ! 135: a user can add or remove him/herself from the list without contacting the ! 136: moderator. ! 137: Third, a hierarchical distribution scheme can be constructed to further ! 138: reduce the amount of message traffic. ! 139: Fourth, errors are prevented from propagating. ! 140: When an address on the distribution list goes bad, ! 141: the request address immediately responsible for the address is notified. ! 142: Usually, this is the local PostMaster and not the group moderator. ! 143: ! 144: In addition to solving the problems outlined above, ! 145: the UCI BBoards facility supports several other capabilities. ! 146: BBoards may be automatically archived in order to conserve disk space and ! 147: reduce processing time when reading them. ! 148: ! 149: Special alias files may be generated which allow the \MH/ user to shorten ! 150: address type-in. ! 151: For example, instead of sending to \eg{SF-Lovers@Rutgers}, ! 152: a user of \MH/ usually sends to \eg{SF-Lovers} and the \MH/ aliasing ! 153: facility automatically makes the appropriate expansion in the headers of the ! 154: outgoing message. ! 155: Hence, one need only know the name of a interest group and not its address. ! 156: ! 157: Finally, the UCI BBoards facility supports {\it private} interest groups ! 158: using the \unix/ group access mechanism. ! 159: This allows a group of people on the same or different machines to conduct a ! 160: private discussion. ! 161: ! 162: The practical upshot of all this is that the UCI BBoards facility automates ! 163: the vast majority of BBoards handling from the point of view of both the ! 164: PostMaster and the user. ! 165: ! 166: \section{BBoard Handling} ! 167: Usually the term {\it BBoard} is used interchangeably with the terms ! 168: {\it discussion group} and {\it interest group}. ! 169: This is true of the discussion that follows. ! 170: ! 171: The messages for a BBoard delivered locally are kept in the same format as ! 172: a maildrop.% ! 173: \nfootnote{Actually, ! 174: your site might be running with all BBoards kept on a single host. ! 175: \MH/ supports the remote access of BBoards using a modified version of the ! 176: ARPA Post Office Protocol (POP). ! 177: This has the advantage that it saves a lot of disk space, ! 178: and incurs only a modest performance penalty.} ! 179: Unlike the user's private maildrop however, ! 180: the \pgm{inc} program is not run to incorporate new BBoard messages into ! 181: the user's \MH/ \eg{+inbox} folder. ! 182: The programs which are used will be discussed momentarily. ! 183: ! 184: Each message in a BBoard maildrop has a unique number and a timestamp. ! 185: The number, called the {\it BBoard-ID}, is always ascending. ! 186: The BBoard-ID of a message should {\bf NOT} be confused with the message ! 187: number of a message, which can change as messages are removed from the BBoard. ! 188: The BBoard-ID is a value which is unique for every message delivered locally ! 189: to the BBoard. ! 190: ! 191: To read BBoards, the \MH/ user invokes \pgm{bbc}. ! 192: The \pgm{bbc} program has several switches to direct it's action. ! 193: The \switch{topics} switch to \pgm{bbc} tells the \MH/ user about the ! 194: status of a BBoard. ! 195: The \switch{check} switch to \pgm{bbc} lets the \MH/ user check on the ! 196: activity of a BBoard. ! 197: The \switch{read} switch to \pgm{bbc} invokes the \pgm{msh} program on the ! 198: BBoard. ! 199: \pgm{msh} is a monolithic program which contains most of the functionality of ! 200: \MH/ in a single program. ! 201: These commands are now discussed in greater detail. ! 202: ! 203: \subsection{BBoard status} ! 204: The \switch{topics} option to the \pgm{bbc} program can be used to report ! 205: information about a BBoard that does not pertain to the user's reading habits. ! 206: If the \MH/ users types \example bbc\ -topics\endexample ! 207: then \pgm{bbc} will list the following information for all BBoards received ! 208: on the host: ! 209: \smallskip ! 210: {\advance\leftskip by\parindent ! 211: \item{$\bullet$} the official name of the BBoard ! 212: \item{$\bullet$} the number of messages delivered to the BBoard ! 213: (but not necessarily present) ! 214: \item{$\bullet$} the date and time of the last message delivered to the BBoard ! 215: \medskip} ! 216: \noindent ! 217: In addition to \switch{topics}, ! 218: if the \switch{verbose} option is given to \pgm{bbc}, ! 219: then more information is listed: ! 220: \smallskip ! 221: {\advance\leftskip by\parindent ! 222: \item{$\bullet$} any aliases the BBoard is known as ! 223: \item{$\bullet$} the local leaders of the BBoard ! 224: \item{$\bullet$} the file that the BBoard is locally delivered to ! 225: \item{$\bullet$} the ``global'' distribution address ! 226: \item{$\bullet$} the ``global'' request address ! 227: \item{$\bullet$} the host that distributes the BBoard to the local host ! 228: \item{$\bullet$} the addresses to which this host distributes ! 229: \item{$\bullet$} miscellaneous information (presently only archiving status) ! 230: \medskip} ! 231: \noindent ! 232: Naturally, \pgm{bbc} can be invoked with the \switch{topics} option and one or ! 233: more BBoard names listed on its command line. ! 234: For example \example bbc\ -topics\ unix-wizards\endexample is completely ! 235: acceptable~---~it tells \pgm{bbc} to report the status of the BBoard ! 236: \eg{unix-wizards}. ! 237: ! 238: \subsection{BBoard checking} ! 239: The \switch{check} option to the \pgm{bbc} program can be used to check for ! 240: new BBoard messages in a synchronous fashion ! 241: (i.e., when you specifically ask for it). ! 242: The \MH/ users types \example bbc\ -check\endexample and \pgm{bbc} consults ! 243: the profile entry for \eg{bboards:} in the user's \profile/ file. ! 244: For each BBoard listed, ! 245: \pgm{bbc} prints one of several messages depending on the status of both the ! 246: BBoard and the user's reading habits ! 247: (for example, in the case of the mythical BBoard \eg{foo\/}): ! 248: \smallskip ! 249: {\advance\leftskip by\parindent ! 250: \item{1.} \eg{foo -- n items unseen}\hbreak ! 251: This message indicates items in the BBoard have not been seen by the user. ! 252: When \pgm{bbc} is invoked with the \eg{quiet} switch, ! 253: this is the only informative message that \pgm{bbc} will print out. ! 254: Users of \MH/ usually put \example bbc\ -check\ -quiet\endexample ! 255: in their \file{\$HOME/.login} file. ! 256: ! 257: \item{2.} \eg{foo -- empty}\hbreak ! 258: The BBoard is empty. ! 259: ! 260: \item{3.} \eg{foo -- n items (none seen)}\hbreak ! 261: The BBoard has $n$ items in it, but the user hasn't seen any. ! 262: ! 263: \item{4.} \eg{foo -- n items (all seen)}\hbreak ! 264: The BBoard is non-empty, and the user has seen everything in it. ! 265: ! 266: \item{5.} \eg{foo -- n items seen out of m}\hbreak ! 267: The BBoard has at most $m-n$ items that the user has not seen. ! 268: \medskip} ! 269: \noindent ! 270: It is important to note that \pgm{bbc} performs its calculations on ! 271: BBoard-ID:s and not the messages actually present in a BBoard. ! 272: This means that the numbers given by \pgm{bbc} are maximal end-points. ! 273: When \pgm{bbc} says $n$, \pgm{bbc} means ``at most $n$''. ! 274: ! 275: Naturally, \pgm{bbc} can be invoked with the \switch{check} option and one or ! 276: more BBoards listed on its command line. ! 277: For example \example bbc\ -check\ info-c\ poli-sci\endexample is completely ! 278: acceptable~---~it tells \pgm{bbc} to check on the BBoards \eg{info-c} and ! 279: \eg{poli-sci} only. ! 280: ! 281: There are two ways to check for new BBoard messages in an asynchronous fashion: ! 282: using the \pgm{CShell} variable \file{\$mail} and running the \pgm{useto} ! 283: program. ! 284: ! 285: \subsubsection{Asynchronous Checking with the CShell} ! 286: The \pgm{CShell} has a variable called \file{\$mail}. ! 287: This variable can contain one or more words. ! 288: Each word should be a filename where the shell should check for new mail. ! 289: The check is performed after a specified time interval has elapsed just ! 290: before the shell would prompt the user. ! 291: ! 292: If the first word of \file{\$mail} is a number, ! 293: then this number specifies a different checking interval, in seconds, ! 294: than the default, which is 10 minutes. ! 295: ! 296: Whenever the time interval elapses and the shell is ready to prompt the user, ! 297: the shell looks at the file and decides if new messages have arrived. ! 298: If so, it says \example You have new mail.\endexample ! 299: if only one file is present in \file{\$mail}. ! 300: Otherwise, ! 301: if more than one file is present in \file{\$mail}, ! 302: then the shell says \example New mail in foo.\endexample whenever there is new ! 303: mail in the file called \eg{foo}. ! 304: ! 305: To find out what file is associated with a BBoard, say \eg{info-unix}, ! 306: the \MH/ user types \example bbc\ -topics\ -verbose\ info-unix\endexample ! 307: Usually the local file for a BBoard has an extension of \file{.mbox}. ! 308: ! 309: \subsubsection{Asynchronous Checking with Useto} ! 310: In contrast to using the \file{\$mail} variable in the \pgm{CShell}, ! 311: the \MH/ user might employ \pgm{useto} instead.% ! 312: \nfootnote{Not all sites have \pgm{useto}; ! 313: contact the same people who supplied \MH/ to get a copy.} ! 314: The \pgm{useto} program is a continuous update display that prints information ! 315: on the status line of your terminal. ! 316: Needless to say, ! 317: your terminal must support a status line in order to run \pgm{useto}. ! 318: Not all terminals have this capability, ! 319: but for those that do it's usually well worth the effort to run \pgm{useto}. ! 320: ! 321: For example, users of \MH/ could put ! 322: \example ! 323: useto\ -bepf\ \'tcp-ip\ sftp\'\ % ! 324: \'\%D\ \%M\ \%d\ \%h:\%m\%z\%b\ \%n.tty\%t:\%l1\'% ! 325: \endexample ! 326: in their \file{\$HOME/.login} file. ! 327: This command line to \pgm{useto} says to inform the user of ! 328: \smallskip ! 329: {\advance\leftskip by\parindent ! 330: \item{$\bullet$} the current date and time ! 331: \item{$\bullet$} new mail for the user ! 332: \item{$\bullet$} new messages for the BBoards \eg{tcp-ip} and \eg{sftp} ! 333: \item{$\bullet$} the name of the host and tty that the user is logged in on ! 334: \item{$\bullet$} the 5--minute load average of that host ! 335: \smallskip} ! 336: ! 337: The \pgm{useto} program is really quite amusing and useful.% ! 338: \nfootnote{To be honest, ! 339: the author considers computing environments without \pgm{useto} ! 340: to be less than adequate.} ! 341: ! 342: \subsection{BBoard reading} ! 343: If \pgm{bbc} is not given either the \switch{check} or \switch{topics} option, ! 344: the \pgm{bbc} program reads BBoard messages. ! 345: For each BBoard listed in the \MH/ user's profile entry for \eg{bboards:}, ! 346: \pgm{bbc} checks to see if there is unread mail. ! 347: If so, \pgm{bbc} starts \pgm{msh} on the BBoard, ! 348: telling \pgm{msh} which messages haven't been seen.% ! 349: \nfootnote{If the \switch{verbose} option is given to \pgm{bbc}, ! 350: then \pgm{bbc} will start \pgm{msh} on the BBoard regardless of whether there ! 351: are unseen messages there.} ! 352: ! 353: When \pgm{msh} starts it identifies the BBoard being read and indicates how ! 354: many messages are present and how many the user has read. ! 355: Usually, in the user's \MH/ profile, ! 356: the user has the entry \example msh:\ -scan\endexample ! 357: This says that when \pgm{msh} starts, ! 358: it should print a {\it scan listing} of the messages which the user ! 359: hasn't seen yet. ! 360: ! 361: The \pgm{msh} program now prompts the user for \MH/ commands. ! 362: The user may type most of the normal \MH/ command. ! 363: The syntax and semantics of the commands typed to \pgm{msh} are identical ! 364: to their \MH/ counterparts. ! 365: For example, to reply to a message on the BBoard, ! 366: the \MH/ user types \eg{repl}; ! 367: other \MH/ commands likewise may be applied to BBoard messages. ! 368: In cases where the nature of \pgm{msh} would be inconsistent ! 369: (e.g., specifying a \arg{+folder} with some commands), ! 370: \pgm{msh} will duly inform the user. ! 371: In addition to supporting most \MH/ commands, ! 372: \pgm{msh} also has a \eg{help} command which gives a brief overview. ! 373: ! 374: The only command that behaves entirely differently in \pgm{msh} is the ! 375: \eg{mark} command when given no arguments. ! 376: The \pgm{msh} program maintains a special sequence, \eg{unseen}, ! 377: which it uses to keep track of the messages you've seen. ! 378: If the \eg{mark} command is given without any arguments, ! 379: then \pgm{msh} will interpret it as ! 380: \example mark\ -sequence\ unseen\ -delete\ -nozero\ all\endexample ! 381: Hence, to discard all of the messages in the current BBoard being read, ! 382: the \MH/ user types \eg{mark} which says to remove all messages from sequence ! 383: called \eg{unseen}. ! 384: ! 385: To leave \pgm{msh} use the \eg{quit} command. ! 386: This tells \pgm{msh} to terminate and \pgm{bbc} to go to the next BBoard. ! 387: Instead, if the user types EOT (usually CTRL-D), ! 388: then \pgm{bbc} will exit as well, ! 389: updating whatever information was appropriate. ! 390: ! 391: \section{Current BBoards} ! 392: There are many, many active interest groups. ! 393: Consult the BBoard called \eg{list-of-lists} for a comprehensive description. ! 394: Here are a few of the more popular: ! 395: \smallskip ! 396: {\advance\leftskip by\parindent ! 397: \item{\tx system} ! 398: Important announcements for the local system are posted here. ! 399: ! 400: \item{\tx mh-users} ! 401: A discussion group for users of \MH/. ! 402: ! 403: \item{\tx arpanet-bboards} ! 404: Redistribution address for all known BBoards on the ARPAnet. ! 405: ! 406: \item{\tx editor-people} ! 407: Discussion of topics related to computerized text editing, display editors, ! 408: and human factors in man/machine interaction. ! 409: The theoretical discussion is catholic, ! 410: but practical discussion focuses particularly on \tops20/ and \unix/. ! 411: ! 412: \item{\tx franz-friends} ! 413: Discusses the Franz Lisp language. ! 414: ! 415: \item{\tx header-people} ! 416: Interest specifically in the format of message headers and related issues ! 417: such as inter-network mail formats/standards, etc. ! 418: ! 419: \item{\tx human-nets} ! 420: {\sf Human-Nets} has discussed many topics, ! 421: all of them related in some way to the theme of a world-wide computer and ! 422: telecommunications network usually called WorldNet. ! 423: The topics have ranged very widely, from something like tutorials, ! 424: to state of the art discussions, ! 425: to rampant speculation about technology and its impact. ! 426: ! 427: \item{\tx info-micro} ! 428: Information/discussion list on the general interest topic of microcomputers. ! 429: ! 430: \item{\tx info-unix} ! 431: {\sf Info-UNIX} is intended for question/answer discussion, ! 432: where ``novice'' system administrators can pose questions. ! 433: ! 434: \item{\tx msggroup} ! 435: Interest in electronic mail, message formats, message systems, and the ! 436: sociological implications of the above. ! 437: ! 438: \item{\tx poli-sci} ! 439: A permanent distributed political ``bull'' session. ! 440: ! 441: \item{\tx sf-lovers} ! 442: Science Fiction lovers. ! 443: {\sf SF-Lovers} has discussed many topics, ! 444: all of them related in some way to the theme of science fiction or fantasy. ! 445: ! 446: \item{\tx space} ! 447: Discussions (daily digest) on space-related topics. ! 448: ! 449: \item{\tx telecom} ! 450: A broad spectrum moderated-digest-format discussion on telecommunictions ! 451: technology: the telephone system, modems, and other more technical aspects ! 452: of telecommunications systems. ! 453: ! 454: \item{\tx unix-emacs} ! 455: Used for new release announcements and general discussions of Gosling's ! 456: \EMACS/. ! 457: ! 458: \item{\tx unix-wizards} ! 459: Distribution list for people maintaining machines running the \unix/ operating ! 460: system. ! 461: \medskip} ! 462: \noindent ! 463: As discussed earlier, ! 464: to find out about all of the BBoards that the local host subscribes to, ! 465: the \MH/ users types \example bbc\ -topics\endexample ! 466: ! 467: \section{More on BBoards} ! 468: Finally, here are a few more operational details: ! 469: ! 470: \subsection{Creating a BBoard} ! 471: Contact the PostMaster at your host to have a BBoard created. ! 472: Be sure to indicate its status (public or private) ! 473: and scope (where distribution should occur). ! 474: ! 475: \subsection{Subscribing to a BBoard} ! 476: If your local host already receives an interest group, ! 477: then simply add the name of the BBoard to the \eg{bboards:} entry in your ! 478: \MH/ profile. ! 479: If not, ask the PostMaster to create the BBoard and contact the global ! 480: request address for you. ! 481: ! 482: \subsection{BBoard Archives} ! 483: BBoard messages are automatically archived on a weekly basis. ! 484: Usually, this results in messages older than 12 days being moved to an ! 485: {\it archive} area. ! 486: To read the archives for a BBoard, the \switch{archive} option is used. ! 487: For example, \example bbc\ -archive\ telecom\endexample ! 488: tells \pgm{bbc} to invoke \pgm{msh} on the archives for the \eg{telecom} ! 489: BBoard. ! 490: ! 491: Note that the archives may not be present for all BBoards on a given host; ! 492: also note that the archives may be periodically moved to tape and expunged ! 493: from the system. ! 494: Contact your local PostMaster for the details. ! 495: ! 496: \subsection{BBoard Addresses} ! 497: Each BBoard has associated with it 4 addresses ! 498: (for example, in the case of the mythical BBoard \eg{foo\/}): ! 499: \smallskip ! 500: {\advance\leftskip by\parindent ! 501: \item{\tx foo} The global distribution list\hbreak ! 502: If you post a message addressed to {\tx foo} then the message is distributed ! 503: to everyone who subscribes to \eg{foo}. ! 504: ! 505: \item{\tx dist-foo} The local distribution list\hbreak ! 506: If you post a message addressed to {\tx dist-foo} then the message is ! 507: distributed to the local BBoard for \eg{foo} ! 508: and to any sites which the local system distributes to. ! 509: ! 510: \item{\tx foo-request} The global moderator\hbreak ! 511: If you post a message addressed to {\tx foo-request} then the message is ! 512: sent to the moderator for the entire interest group called \eg{foo}. ! 513: ! 514: \item{\tx local-foo-request} The local moderator\hbreak ! 515: If you post a message addressed to {\tx local-foo-request} then the message is ! 516: sent to the person responsible for the BBoard \eg{foo} on the local system. ! 517: \medskip} ! 518: \noindent ! 519: These addresses are defined by the \MH/ alias facility. ! 520: Users of the BBoards facility who do not use \MH/ may not be able to make use ! 521: of them. ! 522: ! 523: \subsection{Leading a BBoard} ! 524: Except for special circumstances, this task is wholly automated. ! 525: For more information though, ! 526: see the manual entries for \man bbl(1) and \man bbleaders(8). ! 527: ! 528: \section{Extra for Experts} ! 529: Some clever \MH/ users might ask why BBoards aren't kept as folders instead ! 530: of \pgm{pack}'d files. ! 531: This is a good question. ! 532: Perhaps some future release of \MH/ and the UCI BBoards facility will treat ! 533: BBoards as a variant of read-only folders. ! 534: ! 535: The problem with \pgm{msh}, of course, is that it's a monolithic program, ! 536: and although it does support input/output redirection and a few other ! 537: primitive shell-like properties, it's still not the \pgm{CShell}.
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