4.4BSD/usr/src/contrib/news/inn/doc/control.ctl.5

.\" $Revision: 1.4 $
.TH CONTROL.CTL 5
.SH NAME
control.ctl \- specify handling of Usenet control messages
.SH DESCRIPTION
The file
.\" =()<.I @<_PATH_CONTROLCTL>@>()=
.I /var/spool/news/data/control.ctl
is used to determine what action is taken when a control message
is received.
It is read by the
.I parsecontrol
script, which is called by all the control scripts.
(For an explanation of how the control scripts are invoked, see
.IR innd (8).)
.PP
The file consists of a series of lines; blank lines and lines beginning
with a number sign (``#'') are ignored.
All other lines consist of four fields separated by a colon:
.RS
message:from:newsgroups:action
.RE
.PP
The first field is the name of the message for which this line is valid.
It should be either the name of the control message, or the word ``all''
to mean that it is valid for all messaages.
.PP
The second field is a shell-style pattern that matches the email address
of the person posting the message.
(The poster's address is first converted to lowercase.)
The matching is done using the shell's
.I case
statement; see
.I sh (1)
for details.
.PP
If the control message is ``newgroup'' or ``rmgroup'' then the third
field specifies the shell-style pattern that must match the group
being created or removed.
If the control message is of a different type, then this field is
ignored.
.PP
The fourth field specifies what action to take if this line is selected
for the message.
The following actions are understood:
.TP
.B doit
The action requested by the control message should be performed.
In most cases the control script will also send mail to
.\" =()<@<NEWSMASTER>@.>()=
usenet.
.TP
.B doifarg
If the control message has an argument, this is treated as a ``doit'' action.
If no argument was given, it is treated as a ``mail'' entry.
This is used in ``sendsys'' entries
script so that a site can request its own
.IR newsfeeds (5)
entry by posting a ``sendsys mysite'' article.
On the other hand, ``sendsys bombs'' ask that the
.I newsfeeds
file be sent; by using ``doifarg'' such messages will not be processed
automatically.
.TP
.BI doit= file
The action is performed, but a log entry is written to the specified
log file,
.IR file .
If
.I file
is the word ``mail'' then the record is mailed.
A null string is equivalent to /dev/null.
A pathname that starts with a slash is taken as the absolute filename to
use as the log.
All other pathnames are written to
.\" =()<.IR @<_PATH_MOST_LOGS>@/ file .log .>()=
.IR /var/spool/news/data/ file .log .
The log is written by
.I writelog
(see
.IR newslog (8)).
.TP
.B drop
No action is taken; the message is ignored.
.TP
.B log
A one-line log notice is sent to standard error.
.I Innd
normally directs this to the file
.\" =()<.IR @<_PATH_ERRLOG>@ .>()=
.IR /var/spool/news/data/errlog .
.TP
.BI log =file
A log entry is written to the specified log file,
.IR file ,
which is interpreted as described above.
.TP
.B mail
A mail message is sent to the news administrator.
.PP
Lines are matched in order; the last match found in the file is the one
that is used.
For example, with the following three lines:
.RS
.nf
newgroup:*:*:drop
newgroup:tale@*.uu.net:comp.*|misc.*|news.*|rec.*|sci.*|soc.*|talk.*:doit
newgroup:kre@munnari.oz.au:aus.*:mail
.fi
.RE
A newgroup coming from ``tale'' at a UUNET machine will be honored if
it is in one the mainstream Usenet hieararchy.
If ``kre'' posts a newgroup message creating ``aus.foo'', then mail will
be sent.
All other newgroup messages are ignored.
.SH HISTORY
Written by Rich $alz <rsalz@uunet.uu.net> for InterNetNews.
.de R$
This is revision \\$3, dated \\$4.
..
.R$ $Id: control.ctl.5,v 1.4 1993/01/29 16:42:34 rsalz Exp $
.SH "SEE ALSO"
innd(8),
newsfeeds(5),
scanlogs(8).