.\" 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 .sp 1 Your .I control.ctl may be out of date or incomplete.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 /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\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 /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=/actsync.ign # where news articles are kept spool= # 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 /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 /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 /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 /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 for InterNetNews. Updated to support ftp fetching by David Lawrence .