I am sending this reply to the list since there are probably subscribers who maintain LISTSERVs who are not aware of some of the things I am going to say. For those of you who are, Just press the "DISCARD" key on this one. /hcp --------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Harold, > >What files do I need to keep current for LISTSERV? (I know BITEARN NODES >is one of them) There are three files which you, as a LISTSERV postmaster are required to keep current. These files are: BITEARN NODES DOMAIN NAMES XMAILER NAMES All three files are available from any NETSERV, and the BITEARN NODES file can be obtained from any LISTSERV (which has the current version) by the official site contact person for your Site. >How often do you update these files? I update the files any time there is a new version available. There is a LISTSERV distribution list, NODUPD-D, which will distribute the revised versions of these files, and several other files (used for the maintenance of MAILER) automatically whenever a new version becomes available. Subscribe to NODUPD-D from LISTSERV@UGA and your subscription request will be sent to the best server for your location. >By the way if you have a BITEARN NODES more current than 04/87, could >you send it to me? It'd be a lot quicker than getting it from BITNIC. > >Thanks in advance. > >Darren You should not have to request a new BITEARN NODES file every month. Each month, a set of updates to the existing BITEARN NODES file is sent by NETSERV to all subscribers. These updates are also distributed via the NODUPD-D list. You use the UPDNODES program (available from NETSERV) to apply the updates to your current BITEARN NODES to create a new one. If you are currently at 04/87, then you need to order the following files from NETSERV: VERS8705 NODUPD VERS8706 NODUPD VERS8707 NODUPD You will also need to order: UPDNODES EXEC UPDNODES MODULE since this is the program which does the update. Comments at the beginning of the EXEC will show what to do, but the procedure is simple. Just make sure you have enough free disk space for two copies of the BITEARN NODES file and that the * NODUPD files are on the same minidisk with BITEARN NODES. Then issue the command: UPDNODES VERSnnnn (REPLACE and wait. Do it for each file, in order. If you have modified BITEARN NODES with a text editor, or fail to apply updates in order, the process will fail with a checksum error and you may have to start over. There are multiple checksums kept by the program, and extensive error checking is done to insure a correct file when you finish. If you have modified BITEARN NODES with a text editor, you probably will have to get a new copy before can apply the updates. Finally, a little bit about how I keep my files. All three of the above files are kept on disks which belong to my userid. The two NAMES files are kept on a minidisk which is shared with MAILER and LISTSERV. I have a write link, and both MAILER and LISTSERV have read links. Anytime I get new versions of XMAILER NAMES, or DOMAIN NAMES I save them to this disk (My 193), access it as my A disk and run MG. I then send the following two commands to MAILER: SMSG MAILER CMS ACCESS 192 D SMSG MAILER RELOAD and I send the following command to LISTSERV: TELL LISTSERV STOP REBOOT The BITEARN NODES file is kept on another of my minidisks, and after I update it, I just issue the STOP REBOOT command to LISTSERV. LISTSERV has LINK cards for read links to both of these minidisks in his directory entry, and the following is an extract from his PROFILE EXEC: ACC 193 B/A * NAMES ACC 194 C/A BITEARN NODES ACC 200 E ACC 201 F ACC 202 G The 200 series minidisks are for NOTEBOOK storage... Hope this helps. If anyone has additional questions, or comments, send them to me. I am trying to put together a LISTSERV MAINTENANCE guide to outline the sort of things that the local POSTMASTER has to do. Harold Pritchett LISTSERV COORDINATOR The University of Georiga Athens, GA 30602 (404) 542-3135 [log in to unmask]