JS> The origin line is control info (or contains control info) so it is 
JS> separated out.  A tearline is mere vanity information so it is left to the 
JS> text area and made optional.

PE> A tearline is ALSO control information.  It has the same information
PE> as the OTHER control line, PID!

i guess you haven't seen the bullshit that many many illegal systems are
stripping and replacing their tearlines to... there's one guy (at least)
who *INSISTS* on listing every piece of FTN software he runs in his
tearline... why, you and many others before you ask?? "because," he says
"then i don't have to tell everyone trying to help me what software i'm
running." geez, what intelligence... duh!

PE> If an FTS spec says details a
PE> particular line type, then dammit, it's control information by
PE> definition.

i disagree... CONTROL information, as jason states, is information that
is used to control how the message is handled... the ORIGINAL tearlines,
as used way way back in whatever network they were first developed in
and the idea borrowed from, were intended as tearoff points for anything
coming after them to be removed from importation into the local system's
message areas... that's why they are called TEAR lines... so you can
TEAR off all the crap following and not have to import it into your
message base... do your research... find out where tearlines were first
used... and why they were brought into being... that is... if you can
find anyone who was around back then... me? i've been there for over 15
years... been working in the computer industry for right at 20 years,
now...

)\/(ark