DISTRIB.PATS(5)						       DISTRIB.PATS(5)

NAME
       distrib.pats - default values for Usenet Distribution header

DESCRIPTION
       The  file  /var/spool/news/data/distrib.pats  is	 used to determine the
       default value of the Distribution header.  It consists of a  series  of
       lines;  blank  lines and lines beginning with a number sign (``#'') are
       ignored.	 All other lines consist of three fields separated by a colon:
	      weight:pattern:value

       The first field is the weight to assign to this match.  If a  newsgroup
       matches	multiple  lines,  the  line  with the heighest weight is used.
       This should be an arbitrary number greater than zero.  Unlike other INN
       files, the order of lines in this file is not important.

       The  second  field  is  the name of the newsgroup or a wildmat(3)-style
       pattern to specify a set of  newsgroups.	  Multiple  patterns  are  not
       allowed.

       The third field is the value that should be used if this line is picked
       as the best match.  It can be an empty string.

       Programs such as inews(1) that process a user's posting should  consult
       this  file,  typically  by using the DDxxx routines, documented in lib‐
       inn(3).	The intent is that all	newsgroups  to	which  an  article  is
       posted  be used to index into this file, and the value with the highest
       weight should be used as the value of the Distribution header, if  none
       was specified.

HISTORY
       Written	by  Rich  $alz <rsalz@uunet.uu.net> for InterNetNews.  This is
       revision 1.5, dated 1993/01/29.

SEE ALSO
       inews(1), libinn(3).

							       DISTRIB.PATS(5)

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