.Dd July 8, 1993
.Dt FINGERD 8
.Os BSD 4.3
.Sh NAME
.Nm fingerd
.Nd user-respectful remote user information server
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm fingerd
.Sh DESCRIPTION
.Nm Fingerd
is a simple protocol based on
.%T RFC742
that provides an interface to the
Name and Finger programs at several network sites.
.Pp
This version provides for a system-wide .plan file,
and for individual users to control what, if any, information
on them is available, even their existence on the system.
.Pp
There is no required format and the protocol consists 
mostly of specifying a single 
.Dq command line .
.Pp
.Nm Fingerd
listens for
.Tn TCP
requests at port 79.
Once connected it reads a single command line
terminated by a
.Aq Tn CRLF .
.Nm Fingerd
closes its connections as soon as the output is finished.
.Pp
If one or more user names are specified (e.g.
.Pf eric Aq Tn CRLF 
) then 
.Nm fingerd
looks for the file .plan in each users home directory
(specified in
.Xr /etc/master.passwd 
).
If it exists, the contents of the file are sent as a response.
If a users .plan file does not exist, nothing is displayed; even the users
existence is not revealed.
.Pp
If the line is null (i.e. just a
.Aq Tn CRLF
is sent), or no user
.Xr .plan
files were found, then 
.Nm fingerd
responds with the contents of file /etc/.plan.
.Pp
If none of the above .plan files exist,
.Nm fingerd
provides no response at all.
.Pp
Only
.Dq login names
are allowed on the command line.