> in the performance release of C-news both /bin & /usr/bin precede > /usr/ucb in the default path - so /bin/mail should be called rather than > ucbMail (at least on SunOs 4 ) - so where is the problem ? Unfortunately, there are systems where /bin/mail is just a synonym for /usr/ucb/mail or what have you. The bright boys who did this evidently didn't notice that the semantics weren't the same. It is *thoroughly* brain-dead for the ~ escapes to be recognized in a non-interactive situation. Unfortunately, there are some brain-dead people building and shipping systems... (Plus some sensible people who just don't look carefully enough before they leap...) Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry