DISTRIB.PATS(5) 						File Formats Manual						   DISTRIB.PATS(5)

NAME

       distrib.pats - default values for Usenet Distribution header

DESCRIPTION

       The file /etc/news/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 1.7, dated 1996/09/06.

SEE ALSO

       inews(1), libinn(3).

																   DISTRIB.PATS(5)