distrib.pats - default values for Usenet Distribution header
The file
/etc/news/distrib.pats is used to determine the default value of
the Distribution header. It consists of a series of lines; blank lines and
lines beginning with a number sign (``#'') are ignored. All other lines
consist of three fields separated by a colon:
The first field is the weight to assign to this match. If a newsgroup matches
multiple lines, the line with the heighest weight is used. This should be an
arbitrary number greater than zero. Unlike other INN files, the order of lines
in this file is not important.
The second field is the name of the newsgroup or a
wildmat(3)-style
pattern to specify a set of newsgroups. Multiple patterns are not allowed.
The third field is the value that should be used if this line is picked as the
best match. It can be an empty string.
Programs such as
inews(1) that process a user's posting should consult
this file, typically by using the
DDxxx routines, documented in
libinn(3). The intent is that all newsgroups to which an article is
posted be used to index into this file, and the value with the highest weight
should be used as the value of the Distribution header, if none was specified.
Written by Rich $alz <
[email protected]> for InterNetNews. This is
revision 1.7, dated 1996/09/06.
inews(1),
libinn(3).