Added support for SYSMSG

doc/info/sysmsg.4

@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+
+File: SYSMSG, Node: Top, Next: (.MAIL.;BBOARD INFO)Policy, Up: (DIR)
+
+ITS provides ways to send and read system announcements, of which
+there are two kinds, System Messages and Bulletin Board messages.
+System messages should be read by everyone, and thus (reciprocally)
+should be only those messages of general interest to all who will see
+them.  BBoard messages are read at the option of each user, so all
+other announcements should go to BBoard.
+
+* Menu:
+
+* Policy: (.MAIL.;BBOARD INFO)Policy
+		The consensus among AI and LCS staffers on which
+		system-wide messages should go where.
+		Please read this.
+
+* Sending::	How to send system announcements.
+
+* Reading::	How to read system announcements.
+
+File: SYSMSG, Node: Sending, Previous: (.MAIL.;BBOARD INFO)Policy, Up: Top, Next: Reading
+
+Use only the MAIL program for sending announcements; the EMACS-based
+mail programs RMAIL and Babyl are not equipped to ask you for the
+additional information which system-wide messages require.
+
+Here is an example of how to send an announcement:
+
+    :mail *MAC
+    First filename for this *-MSG: semnar
+    Subject: Talk on PL/I
+    Xpires in (# days):
+    Default: Expires in 7 days
+    Msg:
+    Arnie Frooble of MIT's Information Processing Service will give
+    a talk about the virtues of PL/I, on Thursday the 30th of Feb.,
+    in the 8th floor playroom.
+	Abstract:
+    PL/I is a much more useful and elegant language than LISP in any
+    implementation.  An example of this is the massive use of PL/I
+    in the Honeywell Multics operating system.  Use of Multics will
+    be demonstrated.
+    ^C
+
+When you specify an system announcement address, MAIL will ask you for
+an expiration time, a subject, and a first filename.  The expiration
+time specifies for how many days the messages is to remain available
+on the system.  The first filename is that of the message on the
+.MSGS.; directory.  If you are sending a *MIT message about lost
+keys, a good first filename would be LOST.  The message reading
+programs (:MSGS, :GMSGS) will display the filename and the subject,
+giving a short clue to the contents of the message.  You may also
+specify the second filename, but you should be careful lest you
+clobber another message by the same name.  To find out how to specify
+information other than what MAIL asks for by itself, see *Note
+Commands: (MAIL)Commands, and look at the X, 1, and 2 commands.
+
+It is unnecessary to send to any system announcement address at more
+than one ITS machine; messages sent to these addresses on any ITS are
+automatically distributed to all machines.  Sending to the same
+address at more than one machine will cause everyone affected by that
+address to waste their time seeing duplicates of your message.
+
+File: SYSMSG	Node: Reading	Previous: Sending	Up: Top
+
+To print the announcements, as it probably tells you when you log in,
+do:
+
+	:MSGS *
+
+If you don't type the *, only system messages (the important sort)
+will be printed.  With the asterisk, BBOARD messages will also be
+included.
+
+ITS keeps track of when each user last read announcements. If you want
+to see when it thinks you last did, do
+	
+	:PMDATE
+
+To set the date yourself, use the :SMDATE command:
+
+	:SMDATE 01/13/81 16:30:00
+
+or simply
+	
+	:SMDATE 01/13
+
+If you use a mail reading program such as RMAIL or Babyl, you might
+want to have the messages appended (or prepended) to your mail file.
+See *Note Gmsgs:(RMAIL)Gmsgs.
+