Ron.Bemis@f117.n270.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Ron Bemis) (01/30/90)
K&> Thank you for your comments,
K&> - Kevin "gatekeeper" Lowey - 1:140/43 -
K&> lowey@sask.usask.ca - Lowey@sask.uucp
K&> ---
K&> If I am lucky, this won't show up on Fidonet.
K&> - Kevin
<snicker>
-Ron
.ORIGIN: 025/099 - From FIDONET (1:270/117) via LSS NIGHTLINE BBS Gate! HBG, PA
--
Ron Bemis - via FidoNet node 1:140/22
UUCP: alberta!dvinci!weyr!270!117!Ron.Bemis
Internet: Ron.Bemis@f117.n270.z1.FIDONET.ORG
Standard Disclaimers Apply...Kevin.Lowey@f117.n270.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Kevin Lowey) (01/31/90)
>There also may be another solution. If the first line of the signature >is three dashes (-) in a row, the UFgate software MIGHT not forward >the rest of the message. I'll try it in this message and let you >know the results. I tried it, and it doesn't make any difference, the footer still comes through. The only solution to this problem is a voluntary reduction in the size of the .signature files on the part of our UUCP friends. I am going to write a few utilities that solve a few things: 1) A utility to delete everything but the FROM header information from the Fidonet side of the messages. 2) A utility that converts the "soft" CR/LF used by some OPUS and other systems into hard CR/LF so that terminals on uucp that don't use wrapping will not have problems. (This might be solvable using a different termcap entry, but I'll just try to fix it in the gateway). Unfortunately, since .signature files don't have a standard format, there is no way I can write a utility to strip them out. - Kevin "gatekeeper" Lowey (1:140/43 - LOWEY@SASK.USask.CA lowey@dvinci.UUCP) .ORIGIN: 025/099 - From FIDONET (1:270/117) via LSS NIGHTLINE BBS Gate! HBG, PA -- Kevin Lowey - via FidoNet node 1:140/22 UUCP: alberta!dvinci!weyr!270!117!Kevin.Lowey Internet: Kevin.Lowey@f117.n270.z1.FIDONET.ORG Standard Disclaimers Apply...
Steve.Lesner@f261.n141.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Steve Lesner) (02/01/90)
Thank you for explaining the header files to us here in Fido. If you can do what you asked the UUCP sysops to do, that would sure help. A From line and the Origin should be enough info for us to see here. We can all make our daily reading *much* easier if we refrain from things such as 10 lines of a quote and a 1 line reply. Generally, 2 or 3 lines of a quote is all that is needed to revive our memories and keep us on track. -- Steve Lesner - via FidoNet node 1:140/22 UUCP: alberta!dvinci!weyr!141!261!Steve.Lesner Internet: Steve.Lesner@f261.n141.z1.FIDONET.ORG Standard Disclaimers Apply...
towfiq@interlan.Interlan.COM (Mark Towfigh) (02/02/90)
In article <289.25C6D777@weyr.FIDONET.ORG> lowey@f43.n140.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Kevin Lowey) writes: The only solution to this problem is a voluntary reduction in the size of the .signature files on the part of our UUCP friends. I am not sure of this. Read on. I am going to write a few utilities that solve a few things: 1) A utility to delete everything but the FROM header information from the Fidonet side of the messages. 2) A utility that converts the "soft" CR/LF used by some OPUS and other systems into hard CR/LF so that terminals on uucp that don't use wrapping will not have problems. (This might be solvable using a different termcap entry, but I'll just try to fix it in the gateway). Unfortunately, since .signature files don't have a standard format, there is no way I can write a utility to strip them out. STOP! Before you reinvent the wheel. The utilities AWK and SED (originally developed for Unix, but now available in all kinds of places for DOS and OS/2) are what you want. A simple script will take care of 1 and 2 for you, and will allow you to easily change the fields you want to remove, without re-compiling and all that. As for "UUCP" signatures (most of us newsposters are on the Internet now), they *do* have a standard format (unless a user has underhandedly appended their signature to the end of their posting). This format is a "--" followed by a newline, and it is tacked on the posting by all standard newsposters before the signature. Telling AWK to simply delete everything after this string is a 15-minute task. Hope this helps, Mark -- Mark Towfigh, Racal Interlan, Inc. towfiq@interlan.Interlan.COM "The Earth is but One Country, and Mankind its Citizens" -- Baha'u'llah
Ralph.Scowden@p5.f6.n203.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Ralph Scowden) (02/02/90)
RA> Usenet message headers have been necessary historically because the RA>message can take many short hops across different systems. I hope RA>there can be a technical solution for this signal to noise problem- RA>some refinement in the gateway software. And Fidonet messages contain lengthy seen-by and path lists, but since they're generally of no interest to readers, they're hidden from view. -- Ralph Scowden - via FidoNet node 1:140/22 UUCP: alberta!dvinci!weyr!203!6.5!Ralph.Scowden Internet: Ralph.Scowden@p5.f6.n203.z1.FIDONET.ORG Standard Disclaimers Apply...
dave@dlb.uucp (Dave Buck) (02/02/90)
In article <1990Jan28.215446.8820@dvinci.usask.ca> lowey@dvinci!herald.usask.ca.USask.Ca writes: >This is in reply to a message from a Fidonet sysop, who pointed out that >the header lines and especially the signature lines in messages from >UUCP cost him a lot in telephone bills. I might be able to do something >about the header lines, but all I can do is ask people on UUCP to >refrain from signature lines whenever possible. <middle raving deleted> >UUCP USERS: > >Messages on UUCP are usually distributed using leased lines (at cheaper >rates). Most of the costs are subsidized by the organization which owns >your host computer. On the other hand, Fidonet sysops operate on >regular telephone lines, and pay the long distance bills themselves. >Anything that can be done to reduce the telephone bill is quite welcome. Uh, gee, guys, I beg to differ ... UUCP is generally a real, regular telephone line, and we have to pay the bill, long distance or not. The problem of *extra stuff no one needs* is pervasive ... the Usenet news-software folks have tried to limit signatures to 4 lines, without a lot of success. Most of those headers are needed somewhere along the line, some not needed unless there's a problem and you want to track things down. Now, some folk use Internet or other non UUCP networks, and they have "leased lines (at cheaper rates)". Some use a PDN. And, some companies with lotsa offices across the country have their own leased lines for uucp or other traffic. But generally you have nothing to whine about. Sure, it's a long distance, off-the-continent call. Many of us UUCP Usenet'ers make use of the fact that we have close neighbors, and cut the long distance costs by increasing local connectivity, and take advantage of the fact that there are some universities or companies or governments who will bear the off-the-continent burdens. Perhaps you should seek the same solution, setting up a gateway for Australia via some node in your area already receiving Usenet stuff via whatever their means, instead of making long distance calls to receive it. -- Dave Buck {aeras,amdahl,ames,ardent,daver,netcom,sun,zygot}!dlb!dave D. L. Buck and Associates, Inc.; San Jose, California 95119; (408)972-2825
andy@mks.com (Andy Toy) (02/02/90)
In article <TOWFIQ.90Feb1105440@interlan.Interlan.COM> towfiq@interlan.Interlan.COM (Mark Towfigh) writes: >As for "UUCP" signatures (most of us newsposters are on the Internet >now), they *do* have a standard format (unless a user has >underhandedly appended their signature to the end of their posting). >This format is a "--" followed by a newline, and it is tacked on the >posting by all standard newsposters before the signature. Telling AWK >to simply delete everything after this string is a 15-minute task. It's true that postnews and Pnews usually tack on the .signature after "--", but lots of people tend to use "--" separate sections of text so you may be stripping out part of someones article. The other important point about .signature files is that they tend to contain useful information such as reliable e-mail and real mail addresses, telephone numbers, et cetera (I also agree that some of them are unnecessarily big and contain fancy pictures, but hey, they're some times fun to look at :-) The fidonet site commented that it was expensive to carry news that had these .signature files, but it certainly is not any cheaper for UUCP sites. The Internet or UUCP sites transmission costs are not trivial by any means. I am sure that it costs just as much to UUCP news around as it costs fidonet to transmit the news. It is a lot of $$$ to uucp news from uunet or from any long distance feed. Possibly someone can maintain the gateway or posts digests. The maintainer can filter out all the junk that appears at the gateway before forwarding it. There are a lot of useless articles being gatewayed to USENET from FIDONET in addition to the problems that USENET poses to FIDONET operators. Or we can do nothing :-) -- Andy Toy, Mortice Kern Systems Inc., Internet: andy@mks.com 35 King Street North, Waterloo, UUCP: uunet!watmath!mks!andy Ontario, CANADA N2J 2W9 Phone: 519/884-2270 FAX: 519/884-8861