Sig files....

	I am posting this in response to several queries as to how signature
files are made...etc...


                                                     
oPYo.  o           ooooo  o 8                       
8                   8        8                       
`Yooo. o8 oPYo.   o8oo   o8 8 oPYo. oPYo.         
    `8  8 8    8    8      8 8 8oooo8 Yb..     ooooo 
     8  8 8    8    8      8 8 8.       'Yb.         
`YooP'  8 `YooP8    8      8 8 `Yooo' `YooP'         
:.....::..:....8 :::..:::::....:.....::.....:::::::::
::::::::::::ooP'.::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::...::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

	This is my attempt at explaining how to create signature files on
Vax/Vms and UNIX....Albeit a feeble one...=)

________________________________________
/~~\__/~~\_/~~\__/~~\_/~~~~\_/~~\__/~~\_
/~~\__/~~\_/~~~~\/~~\__/~~\___/~~\/~~\__
/~~\__/~~\_/~~~~~~~~\__/~~\____/~~~~\___
/~~\__/~~\_/~~\/~~~~\__/~~\___/~~\/~~\__     To create a signature for Unix
_/~~~~~~\__/~~\__/~~\_/~~~~\_/~~\__/~~\_  Mail, you need to have a file named:
________________________________________  ".signature" in your home directory..
________________________________________     This file is merely text, edited 
/~~\__/~~\__/~~~~~~\__/~~~~\_/~~\_______  with your favorite editor (emacs, vi)
/~~~\/~~~\_/~~\__/~~\__/~~\__/~~\_______  and it can contain *anything* you 
/~~~~~~~~\_/~~~~~~~~\__/~~\__/~~\_______  want people to know about you.
/~~\__/~~\_/~~\__/~~\__/~~\__/~~\_______     Most mailers don't put length
/~~\__/~~\_/~~\__/~~\_/~~~~\_/~~~~~~~~\_  restrictions on mail sigs, but a good
________________________________________  rule of thumb is to make sure your
                                          signature isn't longer than your 
                                          message....;)


______________________________________________________________________________
/~~\__/~~\_/~~\__/~~\_/~~~~\_/~~\__/~~\_____/~~\_/~~~~~~~~\_/~~~~\_/~~\__/~~\_
/~~\__/~~\_/~~~~\/~~\__/~~\___/~~\/~~\_____/~~\_____/~~\_____/~~\__/~~~~\/~~\_
/~~\__/~~\_/~~~~~~~~\__/~~\____/~~~~\_____/~~\______/~~\_____/~~\__/~~~~~~~~\_
/~~\__/~~\_/~~\/~~~~\__/~~\___/~~\/~~\___/~~\_______/~~\_____/~~\__/~~\/~~~~\_
_/~~~~~~\__/~~\__/~~\_/~~~~\_/~~\__/~~\_/~~\________/~~\____/~~~~\_/~~\__/~~\_
______________________________________________________________________________

	Personally, when it comes to reading news on Unix, I say you can't
beat Tin, a threaded newsreader that is light years beyond rn and trn...
	If you use Tin, you can create *random sigs*!!!!  To do this, all
you need to do is create a directory called "sigs", and put a bunch of
sig files in there - Tin will select one at random to include with your
posts....
	If you are a stable kinda person who can only deal with a certain
amount of randomness in your life, there is an option to have a permanent
.sig file, PLUS a random file...such as my .sig - The Orwick part is permanent,
but the quotes are random...to do this, you need to create a file called
".sigfixed" in your home directory, and this will be your permanent (or
"fixed") sig....
(P.S.: In case you were wondering, Tin allows .sigfixed to be longer than 
four lines....hint, hint)

	If you don't use Tin (and I pity you...really), most other newsreaders
will append the .signature you created for Mail to your news posts....if you
want a different .sig for mail and news, you need to put your mail .sig (or
your news .sig) in a different directory (Such as ~/Mail/ or ~/News/) - but
don't forget to update your news or mail's .*rc file, to tell it where to
find your sig....
(If you don't know how to change these, or don't even know what a RunControl
file is/does, contact your site's sysop/consultant/whatever...)


Okay...out of Unix and into the slow-paced world of:

.::         .::                         .::.::         .::                    
 .::       .::                         .::  .::       .::                     
  .::     .::     .::    .::   .::    .::    .::     .::  .::: .:: .::  .:::: 
   .::   .::    .::  .::   .: .::    .::      .::   .::    .::  .:  .::.::    
    .:: .::    .::   .::    .:      .::        .:: .::     .::  .:  .::  .::: 
     .::::     .::   .::  .:  .::  .::          .::::      .::  .:  .::    .::
      .::        .:: .:::.::   .::.::            .::      .:::  .:  .::.:: .::


	Yes, some people *still* use Vax/Vms OS....hey, I even have a Vms 
account....but then, I almost never use it....
	But that's beyond the point.  If you use Vax/Vms, all you need is
a file called ".signature" in your home directory...and it will work for
news and mail
(One thing - some news readers have an option that you may need to set...some-
times the default setting is to *not* include .sigs with your posts...so
check this out!)

	Well, I hope this helped clear some of the .sig stuff up....if not, 
I'm always open to questions...
	Happy .sig'ing!!!!




--
.....if you don't like my .sig, press 'n' or TAB......
    ________                                  
   (   )(   )                                  "Sure, laugh at my handle...
    \O/--\O/          ___                         ...but I'll bet noone's ever
    /      \        /(,  )          ,    /)     caught *me* applying whiteout
   /   <    \      /    / __ _   _    _ (/_       to my monitor..."
  / \______/ \    /    / / (_(_(/ _(_(__/(__         - a little computer humor
 |     u      |  (___ /                                    (very little)
  \__________/   sms...@cs.buffalo.edu 

Stupid Randomizer(tm) Quote For the Time Being:
"I don't use the school system.  I don't use the police, the prisions.  I've
never called the military.  Basically, I use the post office and the white 
lines on the road.  A third of my working life for postcards and driving 
straight."                 - Jerry Seinfeld, on Taxes