Many computer systems display a message of the day or welcome message when a user first connects to them, logs in to them, or starts them. It is a way of sending a common message to all users, and may include information about system changes, system availability, and so on. More recently, systems have displayed personalized messages of the day.
On many time-sharing systems, the contents of the message of the day are fetched from a system file:
- Compatible Time-Sharing System;[1]
- Multics: the motd info segment;[2][3]
- TOPS-10[3]
- Incompatible Timesharing System (ITS)[3]
- Unix-like systems: the /etc/motd file, though most modern Linux distributions do not support the /etc/motd file.[citation needed]
- Univac VS/9[4]
- CP/CMS[5]
Usage
editThe contents of the special file are displayed after the user logs in successfully, typically before the login shell is started.[6]
Newer Unix-like systems may generate the message dynamically when the host boots or a user logs in.[7]
Various server-based PC games display messages of the day, including Half-Life, Call of Duty, Minecraft, and Battlefield. They may be personalized, encouraging users to try new features or make in-game purchases.[8]
Some IRC servers also display a message of the day on login.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ A New Version of FAP (PDF) (Technical report). CTSS Bulletin. April 23, 1965. 80.
- ^ "Multics Glossary -M-".
- ^ a b c A.K. Bhushan, "Scenarios for using ARPANET computers", Request for Comments 254, Network Working Group, IETF https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc254.txt
- ^ "The Univac 60/90 Mainframe Computer" https://studylib.net/doc/8373525/the-univac-90---60-mainframe-computer, p. 5
- ^ "CP-67 Operator's Guide", Program Number 360D-05.2.005, Control Program-67/Cambridge Monitor System, October 1970, p. 4 http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/360/cp67/GH20-0856-0_CP-67_Operators_Guide_Oct1970.pdf
- ^ The complete FreeBSD: documentation from the source, By Greg Lehey, p.572
- ^ Project, Ubuntu Documentation (May 2011). Ubuntu 11.04 Server Guide. ISBN 9781596822603.
- ^ "How to build a dynamic message of the day with AWS Lambda | AWS for Games Blog". aws.amazon.com. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
- ^ "Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol".
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