[news.admin] In USENET maps, what does "#F" stand for?

bbh@whizz.uucp (Bud Hovell) (09/17/89)

After noticing that one of the maps (for 'icus') carried this line, I
grepped my entire maps directory to see how many other sites are using
the same notation:

#F	uunet
#F	seismo.css.gov
#F      seismo.css.gov
#F      uunet.uu.net
#F	seismo.css.gov
#F	uunet.uu.net
#F	snow.white.utoronto.ca
#F	watcgl.waterloo.edu
#F	a.cs.uiuc.edu
#F	rutgers.edu
.
.
.....and so on, for over 400 sites. So alot of people are using it, it would
seem. Which causes me to wonder.....

Since I found no reference to this convention in README, what's the deal?
And what *exactly* does the 'F' stand for? 'F'orwarding gateway for internet
mail? Also, is it "official"?
 

                                 Bud Hovell

USENET: ...!{tektronix|sun}!nosun!whizz!bbh
USPO:   McCormick & Hovell, Inc., PO Box 1812, Lake Oswego, OR   USA 97O35
"Capitalism is the exploitation of man by man. Communism is just the opposite."