NNTP Gateway for Usenet ( Newsgroups ), Mailing Lists

The latest version: V3.5.0Alpha 1 (21 Jul 2005)

What is it?

This hack provides a gateway from vBulletin forums to the USENET. It allows forum members to read newsgroup messages as well as to send posts to the newsgroups. In a nutshell, it turns vBulletin forums into a basic function news reader.

For an added bonus, this package also supports mailing list archive and forum to mailing list gateway. The software retrieves messages from a pop3 account and import them into the forums threaded. It also allows a forums user to send messages to the mailing list by the forum posting interface.

Why?

The gateway will be appreciated by forum members who do not know how to set up a news reader, or people who do not have port 119 open in their network. A forum interface to read and post news are often considered to be better than a news reader.

The gateway adds more contents to your forums and allows the members to interact with wider audience. It is common to see new users signing up to use this feature.

History

This hack was originally coded by Gilby for vB2. I modified the hack to work with vB3 and have been maintaining and improving the hack. I have now done the modification for this to work with vB3.5.

The very original hack by Gilby can be found here:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...7&page=1&pp=15

The vB3 version can be found here:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=65152

Features

Some of the features and improvement include:

• Handles both newsgroup posts and mailing lists.
• Handles MIME encoded messages and attachment.
• Handles UUEncoded messages.
• Two Admin Control Panels for all settings.
• Automated installation.
• Correct thread implementation. All imported messages and posts sent to newsgroups will be threaded correctly according to References and Message-ID headers.
• Optional setting to thread by subject for mailing lists that strip references header.
• Imported messages will be searchable just like normal forum posts.
• Similar threads are built when the messages are imported if the system setting is on.
• Multiple attachments importing.
• Save attachment to database or file according to vB setting.
• Thumbnail created while importing image files.
• Multiple attachment post to newsgroup is also supported.
• Selectable X-No-Archive header honouring system.
• Light on system resources.
• Global Killfile to filter out unwanted messages. Killfiles can have OR and AND effectiveness.
• Strip footer by setting for incoming messages. Strips out repeated message footers.
• Built options to disable signatures and footers for out going messages.

Future development

• Traditional "> " lead posting interface.

What do you need and do not need?

You do not need to edit vB php files.
No need to manually run SQL.

Installation

Basically the AdminCP interfaces take care of installation as well as upgrade in the background. Back up your database first. The scripts can modify your database without alerting you!

Please follow the instructions in the readme.txt file for more details.

It is not a must to click "INSTALL" for this hack if you use it, I do try better answering the questions from people who do.

Support

Please post your support questions to this thread. Please check the FAQ in the second post within this thread first. It may be surprising, but it is possible your question is answered in the adminCP NNTP settings.

Please always provide more details about your problem. Examples and debug messages will certainly help. Well, if you don't even try to have some effort to compose your question, the answer you get may also not include much effort.

================== UPDATES ======================
Jul 21 2005 (release version 3.5.0 Alpha 1)

AdminCP xml file is written by Kadence.

• Ported to work with vB3.5.
• Existing bug fixes.
• Debug message can be sent by email or logged in vB Tast Scheduler.
• Known problem: image attachment thumb nail creation still needs work.
• Needs to be done: Documentation.

Quick installation instruction:
1) Upload files to their correct directory
2) Enter AdminCP, click on NNTP Settings once to install/upgrade. Change settings to your like.
3) Click on NNTP Groups once to install/upgrade.
3a) For new install. Run once
http://www.yourdomain.com/setlastmsg.php

Delete this file afterwards.
If you are upgrading from an older version. There is no need to upload this file. Actually this file should not be there except brand new install.

4)
Manually run in debug mode: http://forums.yourdomain.com/gateway.php?debug=1

[TMM-TT]

Originally Posted by mdevour

TMM-TT and Aylwin have both listed features they'd like to see added. I've my own list as well. If we can attract the interest of a couple more folks who've used or are using it, we may have enough momentum to make a go.

Well, there's actually more to think over, like this:

If someone on your forum starts to abuse a newsgroup, you really like to remove posts from that user. The problem is that when a post has been sent to a newsgroup, you can't delete the post (only local), unless you send a cancel-message to the group. Deleting a post in a forum doesn't send any cancels, and it's too late to stop such message, as fast as it has reached usenet. I've been thinking of this before, how this would work if such function was added, that sends cancels to a group when something is deleted on the forum.

There's a few risks to think of too. Like admins that gone crazy and starts canceling everything in a group. But then, we have message id's. If something could identify the local post so cancels only can be made on posts that come from the forum, that could be possible to avoid. Cancels can always get bypassed, but if it can be made harder, moderating local users on usenet could be an idea too. Another problem is when someone on usenet reply a local "abuse", that cannot be moderated. Etc etc.

[mdevour]

There are similar challenges as you expand the mailing list gateway concept.

How do you keep spammers or trolls from forging the addresses of real members? And, of course, there is no way to cancel an e-mail once it has been sent out to your members... I hope there's a viable strategy with some encryption tricks and custom headers that will help. Lots to think about!

Still, what's the answer to any of these questions? Work through the logic of the problem, pick out whatever solutions might exist, if any, and present them to the user of the mod as options in Admin-CP! No problem!

Have you found sources for the protocols for Usenet? I think we're each going to need to study the parts of this application we're personally interested in and share our research to help with the coding.

Be well,

Mike D.

[TMM-TT]

Originally Posted by mdevour

How do you keep spammers or trolls from forging the addresses of real members? And, of course, there is no way to cancel an e-mail once it has been sent out to your members... I hope there's a viable strategy with some encryption tricks and custom headers that will help. Lots to think about!

With canceling e-mails it's different. There's no actual solution for that as I know it. SMTP-servers only act on delivery, not on cancels. If that was what you meaned with the custom headers..

Originally Posted by mdevour

Have you found sources for the protocols for Usenet? I think we're each going to need to study the parts of this application we're personally interested in and share our research to help with the coding.

Here's some of them.

Standard for Interchange of USENET Messages
Network News Transfer Protocol


I don't think everything in them are necessary, because some parts might be interesting only if you're building a new server (I haven't read it so I can't confirm on that)..

[John Diver]

Hey,

I'm not getting pictures, can pictures be included in posts? Almost all posts I'm getting have images.

Here is my forum for the posts: http://www.deuceace.com/forumdisplay.php?f=24

It also doesn't seem to be showing much text, am I able to change this or is it a limitation of what I am allowed to take from the sites?

[jruttenberg]

Just bought our license and got vb-2.6.1 running. Now I need to lure the old time mail and news junkies in. Can NNTP Gateway work with vb-2.6* If not now, when? Thanks.

[mdevour]

To John Diver:

There's the problem, John. This hack is dormant. The only support is from whatever other users there are that want to chime in. I don't have enough experience with the hack yet to know much of anything. The only thing to do, if nobody answers, is to search this thread and the one for the previous version and see if they say anything about a fix for your problem.

Me, I need the hack working, too. When I've had some more time to work on it I'll be of more help.

Jruttenberg:

The most recent version of the hack works on 3.5.0, mostly. You need to apply some bug fixes that are scattered through this thread but not included in the distribution files.

There are several threads for earlier versions that you could research and test. Just search the forum for 'NNTP gateway.'

Why are you working with the older version of vB? Server limitations? Too much customization to want to upgrade and rebuild, just now?

Be well,

Mike D.

[Unexplained.tv]

I am pretty sure he meant 3.6

[Aylwin]

Mike,

What's the status now? Have you been able to put anything together? Perhaps we could start a development thread somewhere and start contributing/beta-testing?

-Aylwin-

[esfron]

Originally Posted by Aylwin

Mike,

What's the status now? Have you been able to put anything together? Perhaps we could start a development thread somewhere and start contributing/beta-testing?

-Aylwin-

The biggest issue in import is when clicking on the 'go to last post' button on forumhome, it says no thread specified and it leads to: /showthread.php?p=0#post0.

I didn't test export to usenet, mailing list, attachments.

[mdevour]

Dear Aylwin,

I've been trying to gain my sea legs asking about the process of posting hacks here. See this thread in vBulletin Questions.

I'm also working on another small hack as practice for some later parts of this project.

I will read over the code for this hack and make a first attempt at installing it soon. I'm ready for that now.

With that experience under my belt, I expect I'll be ready to get started here, and to ask for the help of as many of you as are willing, to gather all the code enhancements and bug fixes that are already in this thread and integrate them.

Maybe then it'll be time to put up a new thread in the 3.6.x hack forum, or else start a development thread in the vBulletin Questions forum to bring it up to 3.6.x compatibility or make the first stab at some new feature integration.

I've not abandoned the effort. I hope y'all will hold on while I get up to speed... Unless of course another leader would like to step up to the task! :laugh:

Be well,

Mike D.