NAME

     distrib.pats - default values for Usenet Distribution header

DESCRIPTION

     The file /usr/local/news/etc/distrib.pats is used to  deter-
     mine  the default value of the Distribution header.  It con-
     sists 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 rou-
     tines, documented in libinn(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).