Or do I need to modify something already there in the rc.request file?
Yes, the latter is the case. The patch contains some lines starting with a minus, some starting with a plus, and some starting with neither. Remove those with the "-" and add those with the "+". The other lines give you some context to better find the lines on which to work.
Thanks for the info. Now, when I look at my rc.request file, it only seems to have one mention of "maintainer" which comes towards the end and reads :0: * !maintainer ?? . request and a bit more which deals with checking to see if there is a maintainer e-mail address. The patch (as far as I can understand it) is asking to remove lines which do not exist in my rc.request file (v 1.79 1997/04/28). Is it OK to just add in the lines marked "+" ?
The lines starting with "+++" and "---" name the files (+++ gives the new one, --- gives the old one).
I really appreciate the help I get on this list. Joe