MESG
NAME
mesg - display (do not display) messages from other users
SYNOPSIS
mesg [ n ] [ y ]
DESCRIPTION
The
mesg
utility is invoked by a users to control write access others have to the
terminal device associated with the standard error output. If write access
is allowed, then programs such as
talk(1)
and
write(1)
may display messages on the terminal.
Traditionally, write access is allowed by default. However, as users
become more conscious of various security risks, there is a trend to remove
write access by default, at least for the primary login shell. To make
sure your ttys are set the way you want them to be set,
mesg
should be executed in your login scripts.
Options available:
- n
-
Disallows messages.
- y
-
Permits messages to be displayed.
If no arguments are given,
mesg
displays the present message status to the standard error output.
The
mesg
utility exits with one of the following values:
- 0
-
Messages are allowed.
- 1
-
Messages are not allowed.
- >1
-
An error has occurred.
FILES
/dev/[pt]ty[pq]?
SEE ALSO
biff(1),
talk(1),
write(1),
wall(1),
login(1),
xterm(1)
HISTORY
A
mesg
command appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.