though it is highly unusual on this list, the discussion seems to have drifted far afield from the question. what would dropping ftp access break in a way for which there is no viable alternative? for me, nothing; but i have been an rsync addict for some years. #!/bin/sh RSY="/usr/bin/rsync -vaHx --delete" $RSY rfc-editor.org::rfcs-text-only $HOME/rfcs $RSY ietf.org::internet-drafts $HOME/ids # old + new, though i really want only old $RSY rsync.tools.ietf.org::tools.id $HOME/ids.old # for xml2rfc $RSY rsync.tools.ietf.org::xml2rfc.bibxml/bibxml $HOME/refs/rfc $RSY rsync.tools.ietf.org::xml2rfc.bibxml/bibxml3 $HOME/refs/id randy