+++ /dev/null
-.\" By: Landon Curt Noll chongo@toad.com (chongo was here /\../\)
-.\"
-.\" Copyright (c) Landon Curt Noll, 1993.
-.\" All rights reserved.
-.\"
-.\" Permission to use and modify is hereby granted so long as this
-.\" notice remains. Use at your own risk. No warranty is implied.
-.\"
-.\" @(#) $Id: actsync.8 6731 2004-05-16 22:00:46Z rra $
-.\" @(#) Under RCS control in /usr/local/news/src/inn/local/RCS/actsync.8,v
-.\"
-.TH ACTSYNC 8
-.SH NAME
-actsync, actsyncd \- synchronize newsgroups
-.SH SYNOPSIS
-.B actsync
-[\fB\-A\fP] [\fB\-b\fP\fI hostid\fP] [\fB\-d\fP\fI hostid\fP] [\fB\-g\fP\fI max\fP]
-.br
- [\fB\-i\fP\fI ignore_file\fP] [\fB\-I\fP\fI hostid\fP] [\fB\-k\fP] [\fB\-l\fP\fI hostid\fP] [\fB\-m\fP]
-.br
- [\fB\-n\fP\fI name\fP] [\fB\-o\fP\fI fmt\fP] [\fB\-p\fP\fI min_%_unchg\fP] [\fB\-q\fP\fI hostid\fP]
-.br
- [\fB\-s\fP\fI size\fP] [\fB\-t\fP\fI hostid\fP] [\fB\-T\fP] [\fB\-v\fP\fI verbosity\fP]
-.br
- [\fB\-z\fP\fI sec\fP] [\fIhost1\fP] \fIhost2\fP
-.sp 1
-.B actsyncd
-[\fB\-x\fP] \fIactsync.cfg\fP [\fIdebug_level\fP [\fIdebug_outfmt\fP] ]
-.SH DESCRIPTION
-.IR Actsync (8)
-permits one to synchronize, compare, or merge two
-.I active
-files.
-With this utility one may add, change, or remove newsgroups on the
-local news server to make it similar to the list the newsgroups
-found on another system or file.
-The synchronization need not be exact.
-Local differences in newsgroup lists may be maintained and preserved.
-Certain newsgroup errors may be detected and optionally corrected.
-.PP
-There are several reasons to run
-.IR actsync (8)
-(or
-.IR actsyncd (8)),
-on a periodic basis.
-Among the reasons are:
-.in +0.5i
-.sp 1
-A control message to add, change or remove a newsgroup
-may fail to reach your site.
-.sp 1
-Your
-.I control.ctl
-may be out of date or incomplete.
-.sp 1
-News articles for a new newsgroup can arrive ahead (sometimes days ahead)
-of the control message.
-.sp 1
-Control messages may be forged, thus bypassing the restrictions
-found in
-.I control.ctl .
-.sp 1
-Your
-.I active
-file may have been trashed.
-.sp 1
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-If
-.I host1
-or
-.I host2
-begins with a
-.B ``.''
-or
-.BR ``/'' ,
-then it is assumed to be a name of a file containing information in the
-.IR active (5)
-format.
-The
-.IR getlist (1)
-utility may be used to obtain copy a remote system's active file
-via its NNTP server, or an FTP client program can retrieve such a
-file from an FTP archive (such as
-ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/active; see more about this below).
-Newsgroup information from a file
-may be treated as if it was obtained from a host.
-In this man page
-.I host1
-and
-.I host2
-are called hosts, even though they may be file names.
-.PP
-If a host argument does not begin with
-.B ``.''
-or
-.BR ``/'' ,
-is assumed to be a
-hostname or Internet address.
-In this case,
-.IR actsync (8)
-will attempt to use the
-.B NNTP
-protocol to obtain a copy of the the specified system's active file.
-If the host argument contains a
-.B ``:'' ,
-the right side will be considerd the port to connect to on the remote system.
-If no port number is specified,
-.IR actsync (8)
-will connect to port 119.
-.PP
-Regardless how the active file information is obtained,
-the actions of
-.IR actsync (8)
-remain the same.
-.PP
-If only one host is specified, it is assumed to be
-.IR host2 ;
-if
-.IR host1
-is not specified, it assumed to be the default local
-NNTP server as specified by the
-.B NNTPSERVER
-environment variable, or by the
-.B server
-value found in
-.IR inn.conf .
-.PP
-The newsgroup synchronization, by default, involves all newsgroups
-found on both hosts.
-One may also synchronize a subset of newsgroups by directing
-.IR actsync (8)
-to ignore certain newsgroups from both systems. Only newsgroups with
-valid names will be synchronized. To be valid, a newsgroup name must
-consist only of alphanumeric characters, ``.'', ``+'', ``-'', and ``_''.
-One may not have two ``.''s in a row. The first character must be
-alphanumeric, as must any character following a ``.''. The name may not
-end in a ``.'' character.
-.PP
-The
-.IR actsyncd (8)
-daemon provides a convenient interface to configure and run
-.IR actsync (8).
-If a host is not initially reachable,
-the daemon will retry up to 9 additional times, waiting 6 minutes before
-each retry.
-This daemon runs in the foreground, sending output to standard output
-and standard error.
-.PP
-If the \fB\-x\fP flag is given to
-.IR actsyncd (8),
-then a
-.IR ctlinnd\ xexec
-will be used instead of a
-.IR ctlinnd\ reload
-to load the newly modified active file.
-.PP
-The configuration filename for the daemon is given as a
-commandline argument, usually
-.I <pathetc in inn.conf>/actsync.cfg
-The config file can contain the following options:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-\fBhost=\fP\fIhost2\fP
-\fBftppath=\fP\fI/remote/path/to/active/file\fP
-\fBspool=\fP\fI<normally patharticles in inn.conf>\fP
-\fBignore_file=\fP\fIignore_file\fP
-\fBflags=\fP\fIactsyncd\fP(8) options
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-The \fBhost\fP, \fBignore_file\fP, and \fBflags\fP lines are mandatory.
-.sp 1
-The keyword must start at the beginning of the line, and there
-may be no whitespace before the
-.B ``=''
-character.
-Blank lines are ignored.
-Comment lines start with
-.B ``#''
-and are ignored.
-Any other lines may produce undefined results.
-.sp 1
-The \fBhost\fP config file line refers to the \fIhost2\fP parameter to
-.IR actsync (8).
-The \fBftppath\fP directive causes the machine named in the \fBhost\fP
-line to accessed as an ftp server, retrieving the file named. If
-the filename ends in \fB.gz\fP or \fB.Z\fP, then it will automatically
-be uncompressed after retrieval.
-The \fBspool\fP config file lines determines where the top of the
-news spool tree is to be found.
-The \fBignore_file\fP config file line names the ignore file to be
-used by
-.IR actsync (8).
-The \fBflags\fP config file line contains any flags that you wish to pass to
-.IR actsync (8).
-.sp 1
-Note that the \fB\-i ignore_file\fP option
-and the \fB-o format\fP option
-should not be given
-in the \fBflags=\fP line because they are automatically taken care of by
-.IR actsyncd (8).
-.sp 1
-INN is shipped with default values of \fIftp.isc.org\fP for \fBhost\fP
-and \fI/pub/usenet/CONFIG/active\fP for \fBftppath\fP. You can read
-about the policies used for maintaining that active file at
-\fIftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/usenet/CONFIG/README\fP. Consider
-sychronizing from this file on a daily basis by using
-.IR cron (8).
-.SH OPTIONS
-The options to
-.IR actsync (8)
-are as follows:
-.PP
-.TP
-.B \-A
-.IR actsync (8)
-tries to authenticate before issuing LIST command.
-.TP
-.BI \-b " hostid"
-This flag causes
-.IR actsync (8)
-to ignore newsgroups with ``bork.bork.bork'' style names.
-That is, newsgroups whose last 3 components are identical.
-For example, the following newsgroups have bork style names:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-alt.helms.dork.dork.dork
-alt.auto.accident.sue.sue.sue
-alt.election.vote.vote.vote
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-The value
-.I hostid
-determines on which hosts this action is performed:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-0 neither host
-1 local default server
-2 remove server
-12 both servers
-21 both servers
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-The default is
-.BR "\-b 0" ;
-no newsgroups are ignored because of bork-style names.
-.TP
-.BI \-d " hostid"
-This flag causes
-.IR actsync (8)
-to ignore newsgroups that have all numeric path components.
-The
-.B hostid
-value is interpreted the same as in
-.BR \-b .
-For example, the following newsgroups have numeric path components:
-.sp
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-alt.prime.chongo.23209
-391581.times.2.to_the.216193.power.-1
-99.bottles.of.treacle.on.the.wall
-linfield.class.envio_bio.101.d
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-The newsgroups directory of a newsgroups with a all numeric component
-could conflict with an article from another group if stored using the
-``tradspool'' storage method; see
-.IR storage.conf (5).
-For example, the directory for the first newsgroup listed above
-is the same path as article number 23209 from the newsgroup:
-.sp
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-alt.prime.chongo
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-The default is
-.BR "\-d 0" ;
-all numeric newsgroups from both hosts will be processed.
-.TP
-.BI \-g " max"
-Ignore any newsgroup with more than
-.B max
-levels. For example,
-.BI \-g " 6"
-would ignore:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-alt.feinstien.votes.to.trash.freedom.of.speech
-alt.senator.exon.enemy.of.the.internet
-alt.crypto.export.laws.dumb.dumb.dumb
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-but would not ignore:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-alt.feinstien.acts.like.a.republican
-alt.exon.amendment
-alt.crypto.export.laws
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-If
-.B max
-is 0, then the max level feature is disabled.
-.sp 1
-By default,
-the max level feature is disabled.
-.TP
-.BI \-i " ignore_file"
-The
-.I ignore_file ,
-usually
-.I <pathetc in inn.conf>/actsync.ign ,
-allows one to have a fine degree of control over which newsgroups are ignored.
-It contains a set of rules that specifies
-which newsgroups will be checked and which will be ignored.
-.sp 1
-By default, these rules apply to both hosts.
-This can be modified by using the
-.BI \-I " hostid"
-flag.
-.sp 1
-By default, all newsgroups are checked.
-If no
-.I ignore_file
-if specified, or if the ignore file contains no rule lines,
-all newsgroups will be checked.
-.sp 1
-Blank lines and text after a
-.B ``#''
-are considered comments and are ignored.
-.sp 1
-Rule lines consist of tokens separated by whitespace.
-Rule lines may be one of two forms:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-\fBc newsgroup [type ...]\fP
-\fBi newsgroup [type ...]\fP
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-If the rule begins with a
-.B c
-then the rule requests certain newsgroups to be checked.
-If the rule begins with an
-.B i
-then the rule requests certain newsgroups to be ignored.
-The
-.B newsgroup
-field may be a specific newsgroup, or a
-.IR uwildmat (3)
-pattern.
-.sp 1
-If one or more
-.BR type s
-are specified, then the rule applies to the newsgroup only if
-is of the specified type.
-Types refer to the 4th field of the
-.I active
-file; that is, a type may be one of:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-\fBy\fP
-\fBn\fP
-\fBm\fP
-\fBj\fP
-\fBx\fP
-\fB=group.name\fP
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-Unlike active files, the
-.B group.name
-in an alias type may be a newsgroup name or a
-.IR uwildmat (3)
-pattern.
-Also,
-.B ``=''
-is equivalent to
-.BR ``=*'' .
-.sp 1
-On each rule line, no pattern type may not be repeated.
-For example, one may not have more than one type that begins with
-.BR ``='' ,
-per line.
-However, one may achieve an effect equivalent to using multiple
-.B ``=''
-types by using multiple rule lines affecting the same newsgroup.
-.sp 1
-By default, all newsgroups are candidates to be checked.
-If an ignore file is used, each newsgroup in turn is checked
-against the ignore file.
-If multiple lines match a given newsgroup, the last line
-in the ignore file is used.
-.sp 1
-For example, consider the following ignore file lines:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-i *.general
-c *.general m
-i nsa.general
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-The newsgroups
-.B ba.general
-and
-.B mod.general
-would be synchronized if moderated and ignored if not moderated.
-The newsgroup
-.B nsa.general
-would be ignored regardless of moderation status.
-All newsgroups not matching
-.B *.general
-would be synchronized by default.
-.TP
-.BI \-I " hostid"
-This flag restricts which hosts are affected by the ignore file.
-The
-.B hostid
-value is interpreted the same as in
-.BR \-b
-described above.
-.sp 1
-This flag may be useful in conjunction with the
-.B \-m
-merge flag.
-For example:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-actsync \-i actsync.ign \-I 2 \-m
-.I host1
-.I host2
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-will keep all newsgroups currently on
-.I host1 .
-It will also will only compare
-.I host1
-groups with non-ignored newsgroups from
-.I host2 .
-.sp 1
-The default is
-.BR "\-I 12" ,
-newsgroups from both hosts to be ignored per the
-.I \-i " actsync.ign"
-file.
-.TP
-.B \-k
-By default, any newsgroup on
-.I host1
-that is in error will be considered for removal.
-This causes
-.IR actsync (8)
-simply ignore such newsgroups.
-This flag, used in combination with
-.I \-m ,
-will prevent any newsgroup from being scheduled for removal.
-.TP
-.BR \-l " hostid"
-This flag causes ``problem newsgroups'' of type
-.B ``=''
-from
-.B host1
-or
-.B host2
-to be considered as errors.
-The
-.B hostid
-value is interpreted the same as in
-.BR \-b .
-Newsgroups of type
-.B ``=''
-are newsgroups active entries that have 4th field
-that begins with
-.BR ``='' ,
-i.e. newsgroups that are equivalent to other newsgroups. A ``problem''
-newsgroup is one which is:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-* equivalent to itself
-* in an equivalence chain that loops around
- to itself
-* in an equivalence chain longer than 16 groups
-* equivalent to a non-existant newsgroup
-* equivalent to a newsgroup that has an error
- of some kind
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-However, a newsgroup that is equivalent to an ignored newsgroup is
-not a problem.
-.sp 1
-By default, problem newsgroups from both hosts are
-marked as errors.
-.TP
-.B \-m
-Merge newsgroups instead of sync.
-By default, if a newsgroup exists on
-.B host1
-but not
-.BR host2 ,
-it will be scheduled to be removed.
-This flag disables this process, permitting newsgroups unique to
-.B host1
-to be kept.
-.TP
-.B \-n " name"
-The
-.IR ctlinnd (8)
-command is used to create newsgroups as necessary.
-By default, the creator name used is
-.BR "actsync" .
-This flag changes the creator name to
-.BR "name" .
-.TP
-.B \-o " fmt"
-Determine the output / action format of this utility.
-The
-.B "fmt"
-may one of:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-\fBa\fP output in \fIactive\fP\fR(5)\fP\fR format\fP
-\fBa1\fP output in \fIactive\fP\fR(5)\fP\fR format,\fP
- and output host1 non-error ignored groups
-\fBak\fP output in \fIactive\fP\fR(5)\fP\fR format, but use host2\fP
- hi & low (2nd & 3rd active fields) values
- for any newsgroup being created
-\fBaK\fP output in \fIactive\fP\fR(5)\fP\fR format, but use host2\fP
- hi & low (2nd & 3rd active fields) values
- for all newsgroups found in host2
-\fBa1k\fP output in \fIactive\fP\fR(5)\fP\fR format, but use host2\fP
- hi & low (2nd & 3rd active fields) values
- for any newsgroup being created,
- and output host1 non-error ignored groups
-\fBa1K\fP output in \fIactive\fP\fR(5)\fP\fR format, but use host2\fP
- hi & low (2nd & 3rd active fields) values
- for all newsgroups found in host2,
- and output host1 non-error ignored groups
-\fBak1\fP same as \fBa1k\fP
-\fBaK1\fP same as \fBa1K\fP
-\fBc\fP output in \fIctlinnd\fP\fR(8)\fP\fR format\fP
-\fBx\fP no output, directly exec \fIctlinnd\fP\fR(8)\fP\fR commands\fP
-\fBxi\fP no output, directly exec \fIctlinnd\fP\fR(8)\fP\fR commands,\fP
- in an interactive mode
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-The \fBa\fP, \fBa1\fP, \fBak\fP, \fBaK\fP, \fBa1k\fP,
-\fBa1K\fP, \fBak1\fP and \fBaK1\fP style formats allow one to form
-a new active file instead of producing
-.IR ctlinnd (8)
-commands.
-They use hi & low values of
-.B 0000000000
-and
-.B 0000000001
-respectively for newsgroups that are created.
-The \fBak\fP and \fBaK\fP variants change the the hi & low (2nd & 3rd
-active fields).
-In the case of \fBak\fP, newsgroups created take their hi & low values from
-.BR host2 .
-In the case of \fBaK\fP, all newsgroups found on host2 take their
-hi & low values from
-.BR host2 .
-.sp 1
-The \fBc\fP format produces
-.IR ctlinnd (8)
-commands.
-No actions are taken because
-.IR actsync (8)
-simply prints
-.IR ctlinnd (8)
-commands on standard output.
-The sync (or merge) with
-.B host2
-may be accomplished by piping this output into
-.IR sh (1).
-A paranoid person might prefer to use \fBx\fP or \fBxi\fP
-in case a newsgroup name or type contains bogus characters
-that might be interpreted by
-.IR sh (1).
-Even so, this output format is useful to let you see how
-.B host1
-will be affected by the sync (or merge) with
-.BR host2 .
-.sp 1
-The sync (or merge) may be accomplished directly
-by use of the \fBx\fP format.
-With this format,
-.IR actsync (8)
-uses the
-.IR execl (2)
-system call to directly execute
-.IR ctlinnd (8)
-commands.
-Because of the exec, there is no risk
-of bogus newsgroups containing bogus characters causing
-a shell to do bogus (or dangerous) things.
-The output of such exec calls may be seen if the verbosity level
-is at least
-.BR 2 .
-.sp 1
-The
-.IR actsync (8)
-utility will pause for
-.B 4
-seconds before each command is executed if
-.BI \-o " x"
-is selected.
-See the
-.BR \-z " sec"
-flag below for discussion of this delay and how to customize it.
-.sp 1
-The \fBxi\fP format interactively prompts on standard output
-and reads directives on standard input.
-One may pick and choose changes using this format.
-.sp 1
-Care should be taken when producing
-\fIactive\fP\fR(5)\fP\fR formatted output\fP.
-One should check to be sure that
-.IR actsync (8)
-exited with a zero status prior to using such output.
-Also one should realize that such output will not
-contain lines ignored due to
-.BI \-i " ignore_file"
-even if
-.BI \-p " 100"
-is used.
-.sp 1
-By default,
-.BI \-o " c"
-is assumed.
-.TP
-.BI \-p " min_%_unchg"
-By default, the
-.IR actsync (8)
-utility has safeguards against performing massive changes.
-If fewer than
-.B min_%_unchg
-percent of the non-ignored lines from
-.B host1
-remain unchanged, no actions (output, execution, etc.)
-are performed and
-.IR actsync (8)
-exits with a non-zero exit status.
-The
-.B min_%_unchg
-may be a floating point value such as
-.BR 66.667 .
-.sp 1
-A change is considered a
-.B host1
-line that was removed, added, changed, or found to be in error.
-Changing the 2nd or 3rd active fields via
-.BI \-o "ak"
-or
-.BI \-o " aK"
-are not considered changes by
-.BR \-p .
-.sp 1
-To force
-.IR actsync (8)
-to accept any amount of change, use the
-.BI \-p " 0"
-option.
-To force
-.IR actsync (8)
-to reject any changes, use the
-.BI \-p " 100"
-option.
-.sp 1
-Care should be taken when producing
-\fIactive\fP\fR(5)\fP\fR-formatted output\fP;
-be sure to check that
-.IR actsync (8)
-exited with a zero status prior to using such output.
-Also one should realize that such output will not
-contain lines ignored by the
-.BI \-i " ignore_file"
-process even if
-.BI \-p " 100"
-is used.
-.sp 1
-By default, 96% of the lines not ignored in host1 must
-be unchanged.
-That is, by default,
-.BI \-p " 96"
-is assumed.
-.TP
-.BI \-q " hostid"
-By default, all newsgroup errors are reported on standard error.
-This flag quiets errors from
-.B host1
-or
-.BR host2 .
-The
-.B hostid
-value is interpreted the same as in
-.BR \-b .
-.TP
-.BR \-s " size"
-If
-.BR size\ >\ 0,
-then ignore newsgroups with names longer than
-.BR size ,
-and ignore newsgroups equivalent (by following
-.B ``=''
-chains) to names longer than
-.BR size .
-Length checking is performed on both the local and remote hosts.
-.sp 1
-By default,
-.B size
-is 0 and thus no length checking is performed.
-.TP
-.BR \-t " hostid"
-Ignore improper newsgroups consisting of only a top component
-from
-.B host1
-or
-.BR host2 .
-The
-.B hostid
-value is interpreted the same as in
-.BR \-b .
-The following newsgroups are considered proper newsgroups
-despite top only names and therefore are exempt from this flag:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-control
-general
-junk
-test
-to
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-For example, the following newsgroup names are improper because they
-only contain a top level component:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-dole_for_pres
-dos
-microsoft
-windows95
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.sp 1
-The default is
-.BR "\-t 2" ,
-that is, all improper top-level-only newsgroups from the remote
-are ignored.
-.TP
-.B \-T
-This flag causes
-.B host2
-newsgroups from new hierarchies to be ignored.
-Normally a newsgroup which only exists on
-.B host2 ,
-for example
-.B chongo.was.here ,
-will be created for
-.BR host1 .
-However, if this flag is given and
-.B host1
-does not have any other newsgroups in the same hierarchy,
-e.g. ``\fBchongo.*\fP'', then the newsgroup in question
-will be ignored and will not be created on
-.BR host1 .
-.TP
-.BI \-v " verbosity"
-By default,
-.IR actsync (8)
-is not verbose.
-This flag controls the verbosity level as follows:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-\fB0\fP no debug or status reports (default)
-\fB1\fP print summary,
- but only if work was needed or done
-\fB2\fP print actions, exec output, and summary,
- but only if work was needed or done
-\fB3\fP print actions, exec output, and summary
-\fB4\fP full debug output
-.fi
-.TP
-.BI \-z " sec"
-If
-.BI \-o " x"
-is selected,
-.IR actsync (8)
-will pause for
-.B sec
-seconds before each command is executed.
-This helps prevent
-.IR innd (8)
-from being busied-out if a large number of
-.IR ctlinnd (8)
-commands are needed.
-One can entirely disable this sleeping by using
-.BI \-z " 0".
-.sp 1
-By default,
-.IR actsync (8)
-will pause for
-.B 4
-seconds before each command is executed if
-.BI \-o " x"
-is selected.
-.in -0.5i
-.SH EXAMPLES
-Determine the difference (but don't change anything) between your
-newsgroup set and uunet's set:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-actsync news.uu.net
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-Same as above, with full debug and progress reports:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-actsync \-v 4 news.uu.net
-.in -0.5o
-.PP
-Force a site to have the same newsgroups some other site:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-actsync \-o x master
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-This may be useful to sync a slave site to its master, or
-to sync internal site to a gateway.
-.PP
-Compare your site with uunet, disregarding local groups and
-certain local differences with uunet.
-Produce a report if
-any differences were encountered:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-actsync \-v 2 \-i actsync.ign news.uu.net
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-where
-.B actsync.ign
-contains:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-# Don't compare to.* groups as they will differ.
-#
-i to.*
-
-# These are our local groups that nobody else
-# (should) carry. So ignore them for the sake
-# of the compare.
-#
-i nsa.*
-
-# These groups are local favorites, so keep them
-# even if uunet does not carry them.
-#
-i ca.dump.bob.dorman
-i ca.keep.bob.dorman
-i alt.tv.dinosaurs.barney.die.die.die
-i alt.tv.dinosaurs.barney.love.love.love
-i alt.sounds.* =alt.binaries.sounds.*
-.PP
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-To interactively sync against news.uu.net, using the same
-ignore file:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-actsync \-o xi \-v 2 \-i actsync.ign news.uu.net
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-Based on newsgroups that you decided to keep, one could
-make changes to the
-.B actsync.ign
-file:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-# Don't compare to.* groups as they will differ.
-#
-i to.*
-
-# These are our local groups that nobody else
-# (should) carry. So ignore them for the sake
-# of the compare.
-#
-i nsa.*
-
-# These groups are local favorites, so keep them
-# even if uunet does not carry them.
-#
-i ca.dump.bob.dorman
-i alt.tv.dinosaurs.barney.die.die.die
-i alt.sounds.* =alt.binaries.sounds.*
-
-# Don't sync test groups, except for ones that are
-# moderated or that are under the gnu hierarchy.
-i *.test
-c *.test m # check moderated test groups
-c gnu.*.test
-c gnu.test # just in case it ever exists
-.PP
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-Automatic processing may be setup by using the following
-.B actsync.cfg
-file:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-# host to sync off of (host2)
-host=news.uu.net
-
-# location of the ignore file
-ignore_file=<pathetc in inn.conf>/actsync.ign
-
-# where news articles are kept
-spool=<patharticles in inn.conf>
-
-# actsync(8) flags
-#
-# Automatic execs, report if something was done,
-# otherwise don't say anything, don't report
-# uunet active file problems, just ignore
-# the affected entries.
-flags=\-o x \-v 2 \-q 2
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-and then by running
-.IR actsyncd (8)
-with the path to the config
-file:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-actsyncd <pathetc in inn.conf>/actsync.cfg
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-One may produce a trial
-.IR actsyncd (8)
-run without changing anything
-on the server by supplying the \fBdebug_level\fP arg:
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-actsyncd <pathetc in inn.conf>/actsync.cfg 2
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-The \fBdebug_level\fP causes
-.IR actsyncd (8)
-to run
-.IR actsync (8)
-with an \fB\-v debug_level\fP (overriding any \fB\-v\fP
-flag on the \fBflags\fP line),
-not make any changes to the
-.I active
-file, write a new active file to \fIstandard output\fP,
-and write debug messages to \fIstandard error\fP.
-.PP
-If the \fBdebug_outfmt\fP arg is also given to
-.IR actsyncd (8)
-then the data written to \fIstandard output\fP will
-be in \fB\-o debug_outfmt\fP instead of in \fB\-o a1\fP format.
-The /bin/sh command
-.sp 1
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-actsyncd <pathetc in inn.conf>/actsync.cfg 4 \\
- >cmd.log 2>dbg.log
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-will operate in debug mode,
-not change the
-.I active
-file, write
-.IR ctlinnd (8)
-style commands to \fBcmd.log\fP, and
-write debug statements to \fBdbg.log\fP.
-.PP
-To check only the major hierarchies against news.uu,net, use the following
-.B actsync.ign
-file:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-.nf
-# by default, ignore everything
-i *
-
-# check the major groups
-c comp.*
-c gnu.*
-c sci.*
-c alt.*
-c misc.*
-c news.*
-c rec.*
-c soc.*
-c talk.*
-.fi
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-and the command:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-actsync \-i actsync.ign news.uu.net
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-To determine the differences between your old active and
-your current default server:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-actsync <pathetc in inn.conf>/active.old \-
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-To report but not fix any newsgroup problems with the current active file:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-actsync \- \-
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-To detect any newsgroup errors on your local server, and
-to remove any
-.B *.bork.bork.bork
-style silly newsgroup names:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-actsync \-b 2 \- \-
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-The active file produced by:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-actsync ...flags... \-o x erehwon.honey.edu
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-or by:
-.PP
-.in +0.5i
-actsync ...flags... \-o c erehwon.honey.edu | sh
-.in -0.5i
-.PP
-is effectively the same as the active file produced by:
-.PP
-.nf
-.in +0.5i
-ctlinnd pause 'running actsync'
-rm -f active.new
-actsync ...flags... \-o a1 erehwon.honey.edu > active.new
-rm -f active.old
-ln active active.old
-mv active.new active
-ctlinnd reload active 'running actsync'
-ctlinnd go 'running actsync'
-.in -0.5i
-.fi
-.PP
-It should be noted that the final method above, pausing the server
-and simply replacing the
-.I active
-file, is faster.
-.PP
-.SH CAUTION
-Careless use of this tool may result in the unintended
-addition, change, or removal of newsgroups.
-You should avoid using the \fRx\fP output format until
-you are sure it will do what you want.
-.SH BUGS
-If a newsgroup appears multiple times,
-.IR actsync (8)
-will treat all copies as errors.
-However, if the group is marked for removal, only
-one rmgroup will be issued.
-.PP
-The timeout for
-.IR ctlinnd (8)
-commands is fixed at 30 seconds when
-running in ``\fRx\fP'' or ``\fRxi\fP'' output format.
-Perhaps the timeout value should be controlled via a command line option?
-.SH "SEE ALSO"
-.IR active (5),
-.br
-.IR simpleftp (1),
-.br
-.IR mod-active (8),
-.br
-.IR ctlinnd (8),
-.br
-.IR getlist (8),
-.br
-.IR inn.conf (5).
-.SH HISTORY
-Written by Landon Curt Noll <chongo@toad.com> for InterNetNews.
-Updated to support ftp fetching by David Lawrence <tale@isc.org>.
~ian / innduct.git / blobdiff