List headers support  two "include" commands that were  introduced a long
time ago  to make it easier  to manage large collections  of peered lists
across the network.  The .IK command allows you to  include a list header
keywords from a  separate file without having to retype  it, it is useful
when managing large collections of list and there is no particular reason
to remove it at this point. The .IT command lets you include the contents
of a  file containing  only descriptive text,  so that it  is shown  by a
REVIEW  command  but not  used  to  define  list  keywords. A  number  of
substitutions  are supported  but  they  are not  very  powerful and  not
compatible with the template processor's syntax, although close enough to
be  confusing.  The cost  of  keeping  this function  is  high  and I  am
suspecting that  very few people are  actually using it. If  the function
were to be removed,  you would have to edit list  headers and replace the
*.IT statement with a copy of the file that was to be included, and store
the list back. There would be no significant loss in functionality unless
you have many  lists which share a common  description, which furthermore
you  need to  update on  a regular  basis. There  might be  a significant
one-time effort, though.
 
Removing the function will save  conversion time and remove references to
the file server functions from a  number of internal procedures, which it
will thus be possible to convert to PASCAL for version 1.8a. This in turn
will  make it  possible to  provide more  new functionality  with version
1.8a. Unless I hear people saying  that this function is absolutely vital
to them, it will be removed in version 1.8a.
 
  Eric