Subject: /etc/issue - 50% patch
To: None <>
From: Hubert Feyrer <>
List: current-users
Date: 01/19/1999 01:00:47

putting information before the login prompt via /etc/gettytab is awkward,
having an /etc/issue file like Solaris etc. would come in handy for some
situations. The places to implement this are getty and telnetd.

The general idea is to have a bf=-field in /etc/gettytab for a terminal
type, denoting a "banner file" that is displayed prior to the "im" initial
message. Any %-macros in /etc/issue (or whatever the "bf" entry points to)  
are expanded as in the "im" message. 

A patch that does all this for getty can be found at, if someone wants
to finish this for telnetd, you could make some people happy (i guess?).

 - Hubert

Hubert Feyrer <>