Re: mail <-> news gateway [was: Linus is on a powertrip..]

Miquel van Smoorenburg (miquels@cistron.nl)
30 Sep 1998 20:31:34 +0200


In article <Pine.LNX.3.96.980930094439.4190C-100000@52-a-usw.rb1.blv.nwnexus.net>,
Tim Smith <linux-kernel@vger.rutgers.edu> wrote:
>It's possible to gateway a newsgroup onto a mailing list. That way, people
>who can get access to the newsgroup can read it with newsreaders, which are
>better able to handle high volumes than mail readers, and those who can't
>can get the mailing list version.

We've been over this before. Once there was such a gateway, but
it has been shut down because the S/N level became too bad.

>I've heard that there is software one can run locally to take a mailing
>list and convert it to a local newsgroup, so one can read a mailing list
>with a newsreader. I don't know how good such software is, though, since
>mail doesn't have a references line, like news does, to make threading
>easy. It would be possible, I suppose, for a sophisticated program to
>examine the quoting in each mailing list message and figure out what
>each is a response to, and syntehsis references information that way, but
>I don't know if any of the mail --> news software is that smart.

Ah yes, locally it would work - and it does, I'm reading this with trn
and posting the reply through the newsreader as well. As for the
References: line, all modern mailers have In-Reply-To: and if that
header is converted to References: trn can still do a lot of threading
with it even though some context is lost.

The down side is that everyone on this news server can read this (okay)
and post to this list through the newsgroup (I've set it up as moderated
with the list address as the moderator ..). A few moments ago one of
our users spammed _all_ the newsgroups we carry, including lists.linux.kernel.
Urgh! Cleanfeed doesn't catch postings to moderated groups ..
His account has been disabled, ofcourse.

Mike.

-- 
  "Did I ever tell you about the illusion of free will?"
    -- Sheriff Lucas Buck, ultimate BOFH.

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