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NNTP
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1996-07-18
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nntp
The 'nntp' commands control the operation of the Network News
Transfer Protocol (NNTP). The nntp features are defined at
compile-time. Two NNTP modules are available, "NNTP" which is an
NNTP client only, that stores news in a mailbox-compatible form,
and another, "NNTPS" which is a both an NNTP client and server,
that stores news articles in a form inaccessible to mailbox users.
We first describe the "NNTP" nntp client features:
nntp addserver <nntpserver_host> <interval> [<range>] [<groups>]
Add an NNTP news server to query every <interval> seconds for new
articles in the specified <groups>.
<range> specifies the time-of-day limits when the queries will be
made, in the form hh:mm-hh:mm where start time precedes end time.
Multiple 'nntp addserver' commands may be used to concatenate
groups (up to a maximum of 512 bytes).
Example: nntp add w5ddl.ampr.org 3600 18:00-06:00
nntp directory [ <News_spool_dir> [News_control_dir> ]
Display or set the spool directory for spooling news articles.
Default is /spool/mail. Optionally set a new control directory.
The default control dir is /spool/news.
nntp directory old=new
Establish a newsgroup name mapping, so that a newsgroup name
beginning with <old> is changed to one beginning with <new>,
which may be a null string. To delete a mapping, use <old>==.
The mapping scan continues until the list is exhausted, in the
same order the nntp dir commands were specified.
Example: nntp dir rec.radio.=
nntp dir amateur.=
nntp dir shortwave=swl
nntp dir equipment=eq
will map rec.radio.amateur.policy to policy, rec.radio.swap
to swap, rec.radio.shortwave to swl, and
rec.radio.amateur.equipment to eq.
nntp dropserver <nntpserver_host>
Drop the specified NNTP server from the list of servers to contact.
nntp firstpoll [<#days>] Default: 5
Sets or shows the number of days of old news that is requested
in the initial poll to a new server.
nntp groups <group> [<group> ...] Default: All groups
Display or set the currently set USEnet newsgroup(s). The group
names are separated by spaces or commas. The '*' and '!'
metacharacters (meaning 'all' and 'not' respectively) are
supported.
nntp kick <nntpserver_host>
Kick the local NNTP client to get in touch with the named server.
nntp listservers
List the currently defined servers.
nntp lzw <ON | off>
Turn on or off attempts to request LZW compression be used by
the server when sending articles.
nntp trace <level> Default: 1
Sets or shows the current trace level for NNTP traffic.
Level
0: No tracing.
1: Display serious errors only
2: Display serious and transient errors
3: Display serious and transient errors, plus session progress
4: Display serious and transient errors, session progress and
actual received articles
5: Display errors.
nntp quiet <yes | NO> Default: no
Sets or shows the current arrival-notification setting for NNTP
traffic. The notification will include a BEL character if
"smtp quiet no" is in effect.
We now describe the "NNTPS" client/server commands. Remember
that the 'start nntp' command must be used to allow the nntp server
to accept connects from other nntp clients.
nntp active
Displays the active file, which shows configured newsgroups.
See 'nntp create'.
nntp access [on | OFF]
Displays or sets whether access permissions are enforced. When
enabled, the file /spool/news/access is scanned to determine the
access permissions for a client host. Each line of this file has
fields of the form: host:permissions:
where host is explicit hostname (FQDN) or starname, eg, *.aara.org
and permissions are a string of chars: R => read, P => post,
none=>deny access. When access is turned on, hosts not mentioned
are DENIED nntp access.
nntp add <nntpserver_host> <interval> [<range>] [<groups>]
Add an NNTP news server to query every <interval> seconds for new
articles in the specified <groups>. If no <groups> are specified,
all groups found in /spool/news/active are checked.
<range> specifies the time-of-day limits when the queries will be
made, in the form hh:mm-hh:mm where start time precedes end time.
Multiple 'nntp add' commands may be used to concatenate groups
(up to a maximum of 512 bytes).
Example: nntp add news.usl.edu 3600 usl.test,rec.radio.swap
nntp create <news.group.name> [y|n]
Updates the /spool/news/active file, which must have an entry
for each news group you wish to receive. Choose y to permit
posting to this group, or n to deny posting. y is assumed if
nothing is specified. The /spool/news/pointer file is also
updated with the path to the directory which will contain the
articles. Articles will be stored as separate files, named
by an integer corresponding to their arrival order.
nntp drop <nntpserver_host>
Drop the specified NNTP server from the list of servers to contact.
nntp dump <newsgroup> [<areaname>]
Dump all the news articles in <newsgroup> to the Jnos area
called <areaname>. This would allow mailbox users to read news,
but no provisions are made to dump just new articles. If
<areaname> is omitted, then <newsgroup> is used as the area name.
Note: this command is unavailable if Jnos was compiled with
NEWS_TO_MAIL #define'd (see note 4 below).
nntp firstpoll [<#days>] Default: 5
Sets or shows the number of days of old news that is requested
in the initial poll to a new server.
nntp ihave [<val>] Default: 0
Set or display the IHAVE nntp-protocol behaviour.
0 => IHAVE disabled (default)
1 => IHAVE reports only for newsgroups associated with serverhost
2 => IHAVE reports for all newsgroups
The IHAVE protocol tells the server the message-ids of articles
stored here; it is used to forward articles off this system.
nntp kick <nntpserver_host>
Kick the local NNTP client to get in touch with the named server.
nntp list
List the currently defined servers.
nntp lzw <ON | off>
Turn on or off attempts to request LZW compression be used by
the server when sending articles.
nntp post
Posts to a local newsgroup. A session is created, and the console
user is queried for UserName (unless established by a prior 'nntp
profile' command), Newsgroup, Subject, and message body. While
entering the msg, a line consisting of ".u" or ".r" will then
prompt for a file name, which is inserted into the article being
built. "/EX", "***END" or "." will end the article when found alone
on a line. When the message body is terminated, the prompt
[Send, Abort, Exit, List]
is displayed. Enter the first letter of the desired choice.
Note that Exit quits the post subcommand, while Abort (or Send)
allows you to post another article.
nntp profile {fullname|host|organization|reply|sig|user} string_value
Profile establishes values for the header fields of posts
originating here. Options include:
sig path_to_signature_file
host FQDN Defaults to our 'hostname'
fullname "First Mi. Lastname"
organ "organization name desired"
user "user name"
reply reply-to-address
nntp read <newsgroup> [<article_number>]
Reads the local <newsgroup>, beginning with the first unread
article unless <article_number> is also provided. A session is
created for displaying the articles. After each article, a
prompt "Read next/previous? (n/p/q) " allows the console user to
easily progress through the articles.
nntp quiet [<val>] Default: 0
Dispays or sets the value if the quiet behaviour flag. Nntp will
display a message and/or beep when a new article arrives:
0 => beep only (default)
1 => beep and display msg
2 => no msg or beep
NOTES:
1. See the 'expire' command for information on removing old articles.
2. The TO: addresses, when present, are stripped from article headers
by the NNTP client. This was done to prevent loops should the
area be forwarded to another Jnos system, since the TO: address
would cause the msg to be routed back to the mail-to-news daemon.
If you want to forward an area, give the TO: address on the line
in forward.bbs that lists the area. Example: rec.radio.swl all@swl
3. The NNTPS software includes a mail-to-news feature, such that email
with a To: address that begins with "!" is passed to the NNTPS
module. The remainder of the To: address is interpreted as a
newsgroup name, with the name truncated at the first occurence of
one of "%@.,/", and with "!" translated to ".". An alias is usually
used to provide this special name. For example, to route all ALLUS
bulletins to both the allus area, and the ampr.allus newsgroup,
use the alias: allus allus !ampr!allus
4. The NNTPS software includes a news-to-mail feature, such that news
articles can be emailed to local or remote destinations after they
are processed by nntp. This would allow, for example, emailing to
a public area, so that BBS users too could read news articles.
Jnos must be compiled with NNTPS and NEWS_TO_MAIL #define'd and
a file /spool/news/gateway must exist to define the mapping from
a newsgroup to an SMTP To: address. Each non-comment line in the
gateway file must begin with a newsgroup name (starnames OK),
followed by spaces or tabs, followed by the email To: address.
Examples:
# comment line
rec.radio.swap sale
rec.radio.shortwave swl
rec.radio.amateur.* ham