Message of the Day

Message of the Day

You can communicate items of broad interest to all users with the /etc/motd file. The contents of /etc/motd are displayed on the user's terminal as part of the login process. The login process executes /etc/cshrc (for the C shell), which commonly contains the command:

cat /etc/motd

Any text contained in /etc/motd is displayed for each user every time the user logs in. For this information to have any impact on users, you must take pains to use it sparingly and to remove outdated announcements.

A typical use for the message of the day facility might be

5/30: The system will be unavailable from 6-11pm Thursday, 5/30 while we install additional hardware

Be sure to remove the message when it is no longer important.

Creating a Message of the Day

The file /etc/motd contains the ''message of the day.'' This message is displayed on a user's screen, either by /etc/profile if the user runs Bourne shell, or by /etc/cshrc if the user runs C shell, when the user first logs in to the system.

You can place announcements of system activity in the motd file. For example, you should warn users of scheduled maintenance, changes in billing rates, new hardware and software, and any changes in the system or site configuration that affect them.

Since users see this message every time they log in, you should change it frequently to keep it from becoming stale. If users see the same message repeatedly, they lose interest in reading the message of the day and can miss an important announcement.

Make sure you remove outdated announcements. If nothing new is happening on the system, trim the file to a short ''welcome to the system'' message.

A typical motd file looks something like this:

Upcoming Events: ---------------

26 November -- The system will be down from 8PM until Midnight for a software upgrade. We are installing FareSaver+, Release 3.2.2d.

Watch this space for further details.

28 November through 31 November -- We will be operating with a minimal staff during the holiday. Please be patient if you need computer services. Use the admin beeper (555-3465) if there is a serious problem.

The motd file is used more frequently on servers than on workstations, but can be handy for networked workstations with guest accounts. You can also send electronic mail to all people who use the system, but this method consumes more disk space, and users may accidentally skip over the mail in their mailboxes.