NNTP Gateway for Usenet ( Newsgroups ), Mailing Lists

The latest version: V2.3.2 (31 Oct 2004)

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 is basically a hacked vB2 NNTP gateway written by Gilby to work with vB3. The original hack can be found here:

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


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.
• Supports TABLE_PREFIX.
• 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

• AdminCP interfaces. (completed)
• Installation/upgrade script. (completed, coded into AdminCP)
• Traditional "> " lead posting interface.

What do you need and do not need?

You do not need to edit vB php files if you use two bookmarks
You need to edit one vB php file to insert two lines of code if you want direct click links within AdminCP.
No need to 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.

Support

Please post your support questions to this thread. Please check the FAQ in the third post within this thread first.

================== UPDATES ======================
Jul 31 2004 (release version 2.2.0)

• Provided option of not importing attachments
• Provided option of pause between messages
• Provided option of not sending messages to USENET
• Provided mechanism to skip importing a message if it was crashed on it
• Provided "Default Footer" option
• Provided strip_footer function for mailing lists
  (written originally by KevinM)
• Provided Killfile functions with Header/Body/AND/OR settings
• Provided ability to thread messages by subject for mailing lists
• Provided ability to use a single POP3 account for different mailing lists
  (use prefix)
• Merged KevinM's attachment routine, save thumbnail to hard drive
  as vB3.0.3
• Official support to have the script run by Scheduled Tasks
• Many bug fixes

Please note, when you manually run the script, you must turn on the debug mode. Otherwise nothing will be displayed on the screen.

To run as debug mode: http://forums.yourdomain.com/gateway.php?debug=1

25 Oct 2004

• Provided the option of sending posts using the real email address
• Provided the option of sending posts using a fixed email address for
  each group.
• Posts are now held back if they are in the moderating queue
• Scheduled task log is now working
• Provided the option of sending the debug messages to the vB3 cron log
• Bug fixes

31 Oct 2004

Fixed bugs running the gateway by the vB3 Scheduled Tasks

1 March 2004

Uploaded the new zip file. It contains one or two bug fixes.

[Sanjiyan]

Originally Posted by kjhkjh

I have just taken a look at Giganews.

Even paying for service with them seems to open the door to potential problems. Say that someone spams in my forum and this ends up on usenet through Giganews' service:



That could end up pretty pricey.

What is the way around this. What NNTP servers are people currently using this hack with?

Thanks.

You can do what I have done.

The forums that the nttp script uses on my site, are locked from anyone posting to them, as such the script puts posts into a locked forum, the registered users can not reply to them.

Another way of stopping them is via the nntp script settings under the admincp system.

It is called:

Send message to USENET
Default: 1. Set it to 0 if you do not want to send your local posts to the USENET

I have mine set to 0. So even if a user finds away of posting, the reply or post stays local to the forums, its not forwarded onto the news server.

As for a free news server, if your in the UK, then Blueyonder (www.blueyonder.co.uk) have one just search their site for usenet or newsgroup, also check your ISP, 99.999% of all UK based ISPs have some sort of news server they offer as part of the package.

[kjhkjh]

Thanks Sanjiyan,

I think that I will do that. Just make posts get pulled from USENET and not have forum members posts go to usenet.

I don't really want to lock forums though.

I'm having another problem now.

Have signed up with tigernewsnet.com ($7.50 a month) I have the server, username and password details.

Now when I plug these into outlook, it downloads the usenet groups I visit - so it works there.

But when I plug these details into the admincp usenet options, I get the following error:

Gateway version 2.3.2 1 group(s) gatewayed.
Could not connect to NNTP-server. (Permission denied (13))

Not connected
Not connected

I'm not sure why permission is getting denied and whether it has anything to do with my website host, or if it is the nntp host - although I doubt this because outlook is pulling threads with the settings...

[kjhkjh]

Can anyone help me with this error I described last post?

Gateway version 2.3.2 1 group(s) gatewayed.
Could not connect to NNTP-server. (Permission denied (13))

Not connected
Not connected

As mentionned all the settings work with outlook (sucking in groups with the tigernews settings) but I get the above error when I run the debug url.

Do I need to get my website host to open certain ports?

Any help really really appreciated. I'm spending too much time on my forum site at the moment!

Thanks

[amaarvell]

hi
i just installed this and it says its gatewayed but no posts are coming through
any ideas

and in english please as i am a newbie

[b00k]

Gateway version 2.3.2 3 group(s) gatewayed.

Connecting to server, server says: 200 News.GigaNews.Com
Server responded after user name: 381 more authentication required
Server responded after password: 281 News.GigaNews.Com
Info for rec.123.123 at news.giganews.com: 211 57025 604644 661668 rec.123.123
Could not connect to NNTP-server. ( (-1213239480))
Not connected
Not connected
Could not connect to NNTP-server. ( (-1213239480))
Not connected
Not connected

i get that through debug mode. Originally it worked flawless and dumped in 100K posts over the course of a few days.

For some reason it has come to a stand still, a dramatic one.

I had added a few more areas, then disabled them. So now i have 2 populated feed areas and 1 empty. I have added 1 post to that area.

Any advice ?

[b00k]

anyone ?

[DonMecca]

Does this still work?

[Odoin]

Works in 3.6.0 for me, to scared to upgrade to 3.6.8 :-s.

Mark

[DonMecca]

Originally Posted by Odoin

Works in 3.6.0 for me, to scared to upgrade to 3.6.8 :-s.

Mark

Unfortunately I don/t have access to 3.6 version since I'm new to vB. Hmnn Could I install 3.6 then use this script then upgrade to the latest version? ...

Anyone here using the lastest vB version and has this installed ?

[ryancooper]

Is it normal for it to take hours to populate on the first run? It is going really slow for me?