jef@unisoft.UUCP (03/10/87)
A couple of months ago, I posted an article here detailing my theory on
why double signatures are so common (because of the inconsistancy between
Pnews and Rnmail), and what to do about it (modify the scripts to append
the signature *before* going into the editor). Since then, I've been
using my modified scripts and am very happy with them. I've made some
more modifications too: removed all the stupid prompts and confirmations,
made Rnmail use MH's comp, et cetera. All very useful.
However, I've noticed a new syndrome on the net, and I'm not sure what's
causing it: someone posts an article without a signature, and then
immediately posts a content-free followup saying "oops, my .signature
didn't appear, here it is in case you want to flame me or something".
This seems to be happening as often as the old variety of double sigs.
Can anyone explain this to me? Is it due to some bug/incompatibility/
new feature in 2.11 news? And more importantly, can we fix it??
---
Jef
Jef Poskanzer unisoft!jef@ucbvax.Berkeley.Edu ...ucbvax!unisoft!jef
"There are causes worth dying for, but none worth killing for."
-- Mahatma Gandhijbuck@epimass.UUCP (03/11/87)
In article <306@unisoft.UUCP> jef@unisoft.UUCP (Jef Poskanzer) writes: >However, I've noticed a new syndrome on the net, and I'm not sure what's >causing it: someone posts an article without a signature, and then >immediately posts a content-free followup saying "oops, my .signature >didn't appear, here it is in case you want to flame me or something". >This seems to be happening as often as the old variety of double sigs. > >Can anyone explain this to me? Is it due to some bug/incompatibility/ >new feature in 2.11 news? And more importantly, can we fix it?? This is not a new problem. Inews runs as user "news". If your signature does not appear, it's probably because user "news" can't read your .signature file. Your .signature file must be readable by the world. Do that and it's fixed. I suspect that the problem is more noticeable now because 2.11 postnews gives you another chance to fix your posting before letting it go. Anyone notice the decline in garbage postings lately (full of wq's and other vi commands entered as text)? The remaining problems stand out more. -- - Joe Buck {hplabs,ihnp4,sun,ames}!oliveb!epimass!jbuck seismo!epiwrl!epimass!jbuck {pesnta,tymix,apple}!epimass!jbuck Entropic Processing, Inc., Cupertino, California
mlandau@Diamond.UUCP (03/12/87)
In news.misc (<967@epimass.UUCP>), jbuck@epimass.UUCP (Joe Buck) writes: > [Re: all those "Oops, that article didn't include my signature" articles] > >This is not a new problem. Inews runs as user "news". If your >signature does not appear, it's probably because user "news" can't >read your .signature file. I suspect another component of the problem is the news 2.11 requirement that a .signature file be <= 4 lines long in order for it to be included automatically. The goal was to cut down on the number of articles consisting of 5 lines of content and 20 lines of signature, a worthy goal indeed. (I *hate* extremely long, stupid signatures full of cute drawings! Once you've seen them the first time, they're just annoying noise, especially at 1200 baud!) Unfortunately, the net has found a way around the restriction. Now instead of gettings lots of articles with 5 lines of content and 20 lines of signature, we get articles with NO lines of content and 20 lines of signature. For God's sake people, will you just STOP IT? As a relatively famous comic book vigilante might put it: You know what I wish? I wish all the people who post 20 line signatures to the net had one throat, and I had my hands around it. -- Rorschach -- Matt Landau BBN Laboratories, Inc. mlandau@diamond.bbn.com 10 Moulton Street, Cambridge MA 02238 ...seismo!diamond.bbn.com!mlandau (617) 497-2429
john@xanth.UUCP (03/12/87)
In article <306@unisoft.UUCP>, jef@unisoft.uucp (Jef Poskanzer) writes: > [...] someone posts an article without a signature, and then > immediately posts a content-free followup saying "oops, my .signature > didn't appear, here it is in case you want to flame me or something". > This seems to be happening as often as the old variety of double sigs. > > Can anyone explain this to me? Is it due to some bug/incompatibility/ > new feature in 2.11 news? And more importantly, can we fix it?? I'd be willing to bet that it has something to do with 2.11 news refusing to allow a signature longer than 3 lines, then posting the article anyway. It should either include the signature before entering the editor, as you suggest, or refuse to include the signature *before* entering the editor, or take you back to the "[send, list, edit, ...]" prompt after refusing to add the signature. -- John Owens Old Dominion University - Norfolk, Virginia, USA john@ODU.EDU old arpa: john%odu.edu@RELAY.CS.NET +1 804 440 3915 old uucp: {seismo,harvard,sun,hoptoad}!xanth!john
stever@videovax.UUCP (03/12/87)
In article <306@unisoft.UUCP>, Jef Poskanzer (jef@unisoft.UUCP) writes: > A couple of months ago, I posted an article here detailing my theory on > why double signatures are so common (because of the inconsistancy between > Pnews and Rnmail) . . . > However, I've noticed a new syndrome on the net, and I'm not sure what's > causing it: someone posts an article without a signature, and then > immediately posts a content-free followup saying "oops, my .signature > didn't appear, here it is in case you want to flame me or something". > . . . The first few times I tried posting articles and sending mail messages, I was caught by the "sometimes yes, sometimes no" bug that seems to lurk in the mail and news software. It was not clear to me (and, for that matter, still isn't!) when the .signature file would be appended and when it would not. There is a reliable solution that produces one (1) and only one (1) copy of the .signature file at the end of each message: 1. Rename ~/.signature to ~/.sig (Note: "~" indicates home directory on 4.2BSD -- I'm sure VMS and CP/M-86 [ 8^( ] do it differently!) 2. When the message is composed, do ESC->^X^I~/.sig (Gosling Emacs version), or whatever it takes in your editor on your system, to go to the end of the message and append the file. It only takes two or three postings for this to become routine. That's how this .signature (hidden from the news and mail software as ~/.sig) was appended: Steve Rice ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- new: stever@videovax.TV.TEK.COM old: {decvax | hplabs | ihnp4 | uw-beaver}!tektronix!videovax!stever
heiby@mcdchg.UUCP (03/13/87)
In article <4276@videovax.Tek.COM> stever@videovax.Tek.COM (Steven E. Rice, P.E.) writes: [Here's how I add my signature inside the editor.] >It only takes two or three postings for this to become routine. That's >how this .signature (hidden from the news and mail software as ~/.sig) >was appended: >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >new: stever@videovax.TV.TEK.COM >old: {decvax | hplabs | ihnp4 | uw-beaver}!tektronix!videovax!stever I think it's worth mentioning that the "standard" signature processing puts a line before the information from ~/.signature that consists of two minus signs (-) followed by a blank and the terminating newline. Some people look for a line of this type to know when the signature starts. I'd suggest that if you decide to adopt Steve's suggestion, that you use the "-- " line as the signature lead-in, so it will be recognized by those who are looking for it automatically. P.S. The "~/" convention is also handled by the Korn Shell. -- Ron Heiby, mcdchg!heiby Moderator: mod.newprod & mod.os.unix Motorola Microcomputer Division (MCD), Schaumburg, IL "Save your energy. Save yourselves. Avoid the planet 'cuae2' at all costs!"