Supported by: Academic Computing Services
Each time you send mail, your name is attached to the message in the headers generated by the mail system. Each time someone uses the finger command to look you up in UNIX, the system displays your name. In RCS, your name is the same as it appears in the Registrar's records. (On line, this is called a "GECOS" field.) This has caused problems for people who use nicknames or who use their middle names instead of their first names.
To change your name as it is displayed by the finger command, in mail, and in other places, use the chfn (change finger name) command.
To use the chfn command, enter the following command in a UNIX window:
chfn " new name "
replacing new name with the new name you would like to use, using quotation marks as shown. You can open a UNIX window by left-clicking on the UNIX option in the RCS Applications menu that appears automatically when you log on to RCS.
Please note that changes will not take effect for 72 hours.
Use the man page: man chfn
If you wish to reset your name to the way it was originally displayed, enter the command
chfn -reset
Go to the Help Desk Consulting homepage.
Return to the Accounts page.
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Please send comments and suggestions to consult@rpi.edu