RFC 742 (rfc742) - Page 2 of 7

NAME/FINGER Protocol

NWG/RFC# 742                                  KLH 30-Dec-77 08:31  42758
Name/Finger



   SRI-KL, all freely accessible by FTP (with the exception of SRI-KL,
   where TOPS-20 requires the "anonymous" login convention).

   Allowable "names" in the command line should of course include "user
   names" or "login names" as defined by the system, but it is also
   reasonable to understand last names or even full names as well.  If a
   name is ambiguous, all possible derivations should be returned in
   some fashion; SAIL will simply list the possible names and no more,
   whereas an ITS server will furnish the full standard information for
   each possibility.

Response to null command line - "default" listing:

   This is a request for a list of all online users, much like a TOPS-10
   or TENEX "systat".  To fulfill the basic intent of the Name/Finger
   programs, the returned list should include at least the full names of
   each user and the physical locations of their terminals insofar as
   they can be determined.  Including the job name and idle time (number
   of minutes since last typein, or since last job activity) is also
   reasonable and useful.  The appendix has examples which demonstrate
   how this information can be formatted.

Response to non-null command line - "name" listing:

   For in-depth status of a specified user, there are two main cases.
   If the user is logged in, a line or two is returned in the same
   format as that for the "default" listing, but showing only that user.
   If not logged in, things become more interesting.  Furnishing the
   full name and time of last logout is the expected thing to do, but
   there is also a "plan" feature, wherein a user may leave a short
   message that will be included in the response to such requests.  This
   is easily implemented by (for example) having the program look for a
   specially named text file on the user's directory or some common
   area.  See the examples for typical "plans".

Implementation miscellany:

   Anyone wishing to implement such a server is encouraged to get in
   touch with the maintainers of NAME by sending a message to BUG-NAME @
   MIT-AI;  apart from offering advice and help, a list of all sites
   with such servers is kept there.  It is also suggested that any
   existing programs performing similar functions locally (i.e. not as
   net servers) be extended to allow specification of other sites, or
   names at other sites.  For example, on ITS systems one can say
   ":NAME" for a local default listing, or ":NAME @SAIL" for
   SAIL's default listing, or ":NAME Foo@MC" to ask MIT-MC about
   Foo's status, etc.