reid@sask.UUCP (Smarter than your Average Bear) (02/06/88)
Over the years many a file has come and gone in the UUCP map distribution.
The paths that some auto-routers are creating make it clear that more than
a few people are still including invalid old files in their pathalias runs.
I would like to see the map distribution contain either an extra file
containing a list of valid map files, or something like a "checkgroups"
message that sends a note to the sysadmin pointing out missing or invalid
map files.
Simply adding a new file containing a list of valid files would probably be
easiest, though it does depend on map admins actively checking their map
directories against the list.
--
- irving - (reid@sask.uucp or {alberta, ihnp4, utcsri}!sask!reid)
Isn't life the strangest thing you've ever seen?grr@cbmvax.UUCP (George Robbins) (02/08/88)
In article <1015@sask.UUCP> reid@sask.UUCP (Irving Reid) writes: > Over the years many a file has come and gone in the UUCP map distribution. > The paths that some auto-routers are creating make it clear that more than > a few people are still including invalid old files in their pathalias runs. > > I would like to see the map distribution contain either an extra file > containing a list of valid map files, or something like a "checkgroups" > message that sends a note to the sysadmin pointing out missing or invalid > map files. > > Simply adding a new file containing a list of valid files would probably be > easiest, though it does depend on map admins actively checking their map > directories against the list. I don't think the situation is as simple as you suggest. The actual path names you see are based more on operational procedures than the validity of the "raw" pathalias database. 1) Many paths are manually constructed from .signature files. The .signature files are very often out of date, or reflect unofficial but perhaps effective paths. 2) Many path are automatically created based on the news path in the news headers, which may or may not contain official/functional mail paths. 3) Many sites only run pathalias periodically, perhaps quarterly or when the urge strikes. This seems generally adequate when the resulting data is used in an advisory sense, but not when the data is used for automatic routing. There are counter-examples... 4) Some sites retain and merge in the last "AT&T" pathalias input, since even though out-of-date, it seems to generate "better" pathalias data than if it is omitted. -- George Robbins - now working for, uucp: {uunet|ihnp4|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr but no way officially representing arpa: cbmvax!grr@uunet.uu.net Commodore, Engineering Department fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)