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MESG(1)				 User Commands			       MESG(1)

NAME
       mesg - display (or do not display) messages from	other users

SYNOPSIS
       mesg [option] [n|y]

DESCRIPTION
       The mesg	utility	is invoked by a	user to	control	write access others
       have to the terminal device associated with 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.

       The mesg	utility	silently exits with error status 2 if not executed on
       a terminal. In this case	executing mesg is pointless. The command line
       option --verbose	forces mesg to print a warning in this situation. This
       behaviour has been introduced in	version	2.33.

ARGUMENTS
       n
	   Disallow messages.

       y
	   Allow messages to be	displayed.

       If no arguments are given, mesg shows the current message status	on
       standard	error output.

OPTIONS
       -v, --verbose
	   Explain what	is being done.

       -h, --help
	   Display help	text and exit.

       -V, --version
	   Print version and exit.

EXIT STATUS
       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*, /dev/pts/[0-9]*

HISTORY
       mesg (I)	appears	in the UNIX Programmer's Manual. It used to invert the
       current state with no argument before Version 7 AT&T UNIX.

SEE ALSO
       login(1), talk(1), write(1), wall(1), xterm(1)

REPORTING BUGS
       For bug reports,	use the	issue tracker at
       https://github.com/util-linux/util-linux/issues.

AVAILABILITY
       The mesg	command	is part	of the util-linux package which	can be
       downloaded from Linux Kernel Archive
       <https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/util-linux/>.

util-linux 2.39.4		  2024-01-31			       MESG(1)

Want to link to this manual page? Use this URL:
<https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=mesg&sektion=1&manpath=FreeBSD+Ports+14.3.quarterly>

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