>However the concern about whether news is biodegradable is something
>to think about. What does expire do with the toxic waste?
Um, I take it you haven't emptied out your bit bucket lately?
OK, this is best done in single-user mode, but you can do it multiuser if you turn off uucico first. You will need to take your computer to an authorised displosal site, or establish a high speed connection to one. You can do this at 2400 baud, but you have to watch the flow rate carefully to avoid contaminating valid data. Also, be sure to clean off the used bits from your modem, or you can get bit-rot and opportunistic computer virus infections.
There are places that rent modems for this purpose, but make sure they have properly cleaned the unit before you take it home.
OK, carefully unscrew /dev/null and put it aside. If you have a /dev/zero, use it to wash off the exposed sections of the kernel before and afterwards, otherwise you can use "dd" to generate a large empty file. Locate the entry point for the bit bucket, and attach a streams tap to it (it's useful to gen this into your kernel if you're going to be doing this yourself). Connect the other and of the stream to a convenient named pipe, and set it aside.
Dial the disposal company and attach the pipe to the modem. Open the tap. If bits don't start flowing immediately, you may have a vapor lock: delete a few files (I use /usr/spool/news/junk/*) to force the bubble out.
After the bit bucket has emptied, reverse these steps. Make sure that both ends of the stream are closed. You shouldn't reuse this stream for valid data, but you can keep it in a handy core file for next time. Make sure you chmod it to 0 so some user doesn't try to use it. Or you can simply toss it in /dev/null.
Remove and clean the modem, even if it's a rental: it doesn't take long and it's just common courtesy. Delete a few files to make sure all the links are secure... be especially careful of symbolic links, if you use them. You can now return to multi-user mode or turn on uucico confident that your bit bucket will not overflow for at least another 6 months... though I would recommend cleaning it at least twice that frequently to avoid disk errors and increase gas (and gcc) mileage.
Author: Peter da Silva.
