nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) (12/25/88)
Has anyone ever considered a database of .signatures? After all, isn't it foolish for eric@snark.uu.net, or jfh@rpp386.Dallas.TX.US or henry@utzoo.UUCP's signature to be duplicated and retransmitted countless times? Why not keep a database of .signatures, one per user ID (the user ID is the key, you see), a maximum of N characters (N is subject to discussion). Create a new control message, 'signature', that gets sent out whenever the date on .signature is a month in the past. On that database end, if the user hasn't posted in a month, expire their signature entry. Doesn't work for mailing lists gatewayed to newsgroups, but hey, life isn't perfect. -- --russ (nelson@clutx [.bitnet | .clarkson.edu]) To surrender is to remain in the hands of barbarians for the rest of my life. To fight is to leave my bones exposed in the desert waste.