"John R. Copeland" wrote in message
...

It wasn't a controller, it was an FSS specialist,


You said previously it was ATC.



and sadly I asked him only
what the "area setting" meant, not how he determined it.
Since nobody here seems to know about it, it may be one of those things
no longer in use. It seemed reasonable to me at the time, though.


I doubt it was ever in use.