ARPAVAX:usenet (06/22/82)
Changes in B news version 2.8
Version 2.8 is an interim version. It contains fixes to some problems
that showed up in 2.7, and few new features. Some of the problems in
2.7 were serious, so it is strongly recommended that you upgrade to 2.8
as soon as possible.
Several fixes to full names were made:
The full name code is now in a separate file, to make local
versions easier to maintain.
Both the Berkeley finger format and the BTL USG IBM RJE format
are understood.
A new flag in defs.h "LOCALNAME" disallows looking in /etc/passwd.
Instead, the full name is prompted for and stored in $HOME/.name.
The environment variable NAME will be checked and used as your
full name, if it exists.
The file $HOME/.name will be used if that exists and $NAME does not.
The -M flag to readnews once again works with full names.
The reply command now works with full names.
Control messages from persons with full names now work.
2.7 prepended $HOME to $NEWSRC in readnews, and ignored it in checknews.
In 2.8, $NEWSRC is the full path name of your newsrc file, as documented.
The version control message is now accepted.
A bug to expire preventing mkdir of a second newsgroup is fixed.
The v and u commands to readnews are documented in the help file.
If an error occurs during incoming news, the lock file will be cleaned up.
An & in postnews.usg has been removed, making recordings work.
If postnews fails, the article is saved in dead.news
A fork bug in inews has been fixed, allowing it to be once
again put into the background. This makes postnews faster.