On Sat, 5 Jul 1997 19:49:56 +1000, David M
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>What is the easiest way to delete mail messages from the archives?  Is it
>with an editor directly on the archive file?

use the command  GET listname LOGyymmx  to get the appropriate file, edit
it in a suitable plain ascii text editor pgm (most word proc pgms are not
good for this), then PUT listname LOGyymmx PW=?????  the edited file.

If you are working on a current archive (i.e. today's, not last month or
last week) you should HOLD the list to prevent new msgs being added while
you are editing the file, then FREE the list after you have successfully
PUT the file back.

>Some users have posted messages that should not be on the archives and I
>would like to find a mechanism to remove them asap.

You need to adopt a policy about this.  Some sites never edit the archives
except for technical reasons (bad binary attachment, etc) or to remove a
file for legal reasons.  At other sites the owners are editing the archives
almost daily.  Presumably you have better things to do and don't always
want to be bothered by users who want to change what they said every hour.
You need to work out what is best for your situation and stick with it.
--
 ________________________________________________________________________
 Ben Parker ............ (Oak Park IL) .......... [log in to unmask]