From: sloane@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Bob Sloane)
Newsgroups: news.software.anu-news
Subject: Re: How to restrict news from mail feed?
Date: 6 Nov 92 08:55:04 CST
Organization: University of Kansas Academic Computing Services

In article <1992Nov5.082321.40@dallas.sil.org>, mcdonald@dallas.sil.org writes:
> Running ANU-NEWS 6.1 (distributed with DECUS UUCP 2.0)  under VMS 5.5-1...
> I'm currently getting a small feed by mail in addition to my usual uucp
> feeds.   My mail feed is starting to send a few rogue messages that my uucp
> feed does not want.  How can I restrict those messages locally?

It would help a lot if we knew what the feed site was that was sending
the "rogue" messages, and something about why you don't want them. If
your problem is acuvax sending you articles in the pnet.* groups, then
tell them that you don't want the pnet.* groups. Your sys file entry
on acuvax looks like:

dalsil/news.oc.com:snet,pnet,to.sil,\
    :BN:NEWS_MANAGER_DEV/[Mail_dalsil]news.batch\
    :world,snet,pnet,to.sil

In general, if you are getting articles that you don't want, talk to
the news manager at the system that is sending them and ask him/her to
stop.

> I am not using a NEWS.DISTRIBUTIONS file.  Here is my latest attempt at a
> NEWS.SYS file:
> 
> #My site:
> dalsil:\
> bit,biz,comp,dfw,gnu,misc,news,rec,sci,snet,soc,talk,to,tx,vmsnet,\
> !alt,\
> local,junk,control,general:::world,na,usa,tx,dfw,

Looks like ther is an extra trailing comma in there.

> # supposed to just feed me SNET via mail, but occasionally sends other
> # groups...
> acuvax.acu.edu:/me\
> snet,to.sil\
> local,junk,control,general\
> :BN:NEWS_MANAGER_DEV/[POST_MAIL_ACUVAX]NEWS.BATCH^B

What is the /me entry in the above supposed to do? It isn't any legal
construct that I am aware of.  Do you REALLY want to send articles
with Distribution: local to acuvax?  Why do you have entries for junk,
control, and general in there? Are these groups that you want to
exchange with acuvax?

> # not supposed to get SNET, anything else from acuvax fine.
> fallout.lonestar.org/mapsink,txsil:\
> all,\
> !comp,!control,!misc,!news,!snet,!tx,!vmsnet,\
> local,junk,control,general\
> :B:NEWS_MANAGER_DEV/[POST_UUCP$CMPRS_FALLOUT]NEWS.BATCH^B:world,na,usa,tx,dfw

With "all" in there, you will send EVERYTING that isn't explicitly
excluded.  If there are things that you don't want to send you will
have to explicitly exclude each and every one of them. I would
recommend that you take out "all" and just list the things that you
want to send.  If fallout is not supposed to get snet, and all you get
from acuvax is snet, then why the comment "anything else from acuvax
is fine"? Is something in to.sil from acuvax OK to send to fallout?

> # main feed - does not want me feeding him anything but local posts.
> lerami/mapsink,txsil,fallout.lonestar.org:\
> all,\
> !alt,!snet,!to,\
> local,junk,control,general\
> :B:NEWS_MANAGER_DEV/[POST_UUCP$CMPRS_LERAMI]NEWS.BATCH^B:world,na,usa,tx,dfw

If you aren't supposed to send anything but local posts, then you
should be excluding all the systems that send you things. Does
mapsink really post that many articles, that it needs to be excluded?
It doesn't seem to be listed in NEWS.SYS that I can find.

How about:

lerami/acuvax.acu.edu,fallout.lonestar.org,txsil:\
   bit,biz,comp,dfw,gnu,misc,news,rec,sci,soc,talk,tx,vmsnet,to.lerami\
   :B:NEWS_MANAGER_DEV/[POST_UUCP$CMPRS_LERAMI]NEWS.BATCH^B\
   :world,na,usa,tx,dfw

> txsil/fallout.lonestar.org:\
> to,comp,news,rec,soc,sci,\
> !alt,!snet,\
> !alt.sex,!alt.sex.bondage,!alt.sex.bestiality,\
> local,junk,control,general\
> :B:NEWS_MANAGER_DEV/[POST_UUCP$CMPRS_TXSIL]NEWS.BATCH^B:world,na,usa,tx,dfw

You probably don't want to feed to.sil articles to txsil. Since you
don't carry alt, whay all the exclusions of alt groups?
-- 
USmail: Bob Sloane, University of Kansas Computer Center, Lawrence, KS, 66045
E-mail: sloane@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu, sloane@ukanvax.bitnet, AT&T: (913)864-0444