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.

[NietzscheKid]

Hello.

It is working with the example you posted in your readme file.

However, I have tried, unsuccessfully, to install this newsgroup.

Group: alt.music.pearl-jam

server: group.google.com

This does not work for some reason.

Is there something wrong with these two entries? :ermm:

Again, sorry for these questions.

[lierduh]

Originally Posted by cyc

Sounds good, I got around this by creating another style for usenet forums and commenting out the big replyto button. I just find some post don't thread properly :devious: dunno whats causing it.

I have uploaded the "Advanced_gateway_hacking_guide.txt".
The guide only contains the method to hide the big Reply button.

Go to the first page to download.

[lierduh]

Originally Posted by NietzscheKid

Hello.

Group: alt.music.pearl-jam

server: group.google.com

Again, sorry for these questions.

group.google.com does not even resolve DNS.

You need to find out what is the news server your host lets you use, or pay for one. They are very cheap anyway, do a search in this thread for ones to use.

[trackpads]

AKkkkk, now I am getting this error-

<br />
<b>Warning</b>:  array_merge() [<a href='function.array-merge'>function.array-merge</a>]: Argument #1 is not an array in <b>/home/trackpad/public_html/forum/global.php</b> on line <b>335</b><br />
<br />
<b>Warning</b>:  in_array() [<a href='function.in-array'>function.in-array</a>]: Wrong datatype for second argument in <b>/home/trackpad/public_html/forum/includes/functions.php</b> on line <b>2172</b><br />
<br />
<b>Warning</b>:  Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in <b>/home/trackpad/public_html/forum/includes/functions.php</b> on line <b>2177</b><br />

[NietzscheKid]

Originally Posted by lierduh

group.google.com does not even resolve DNS.

You need to find out what is the news server your host lets you use, or pay for one. They are very cheap anyway, do a search in this thread for ones to use.

I don't understand. Does this hack allow me to use alt.music.pearl-jam from google but i need to find another server or what do you mean? Does anyone know or use a google newsgroup? If there's any kind soul who can give me a tipp on which news server supports google newsgroups like e.g. alt.music.xx, please give this poor woman some hints. I'd be forever in your debt.

Thank you

PS: I'd also gladly pay for a news server. The only thing that I really need to know is whether I could then use google's alt.music.xxx newsgroup to display in my forums?
I've seen google's newsgroup mentioned in this thread once and in the old hack thread also. So I assume this must be working?

[Princeton]

It's been a while since I used this ... please verify.
If is_running is set to 1 it WILL CHECK if another instance is running?

[john_rsd]

Originally Posted by lierduh

I just checked your forums, the messages seem to be threaded together probably. Are you sure those two messages were not imported before you turned on the option?

If you see AW (what language?) as a common reply prefix, you you simply add AW: to the existing re: fw: line in gateway.php. That will be easy to hack.

lierduh

No, they were delivered to the mailbox but were not collected until after I upgraded.

But I did have the cache issue at that time as I could not see the option in the admincp to turn threading on. So most likely it was actually turned off. Seems to work now as you seen.

Regarding the parsing for the "Re:" I saw once instance of non threading

http://proteluser.com/bbs3/forumdisplay.php?f=8

Subject

[Elecraft] KX1 Random Wire Antenna recommendations

Post http://proteluser.com/bbs3/showthread.php?t=2262 has had the "Re:" placed after the mailing list name between the []'s, I cannot even guess how that happened but i suspect it was down to the authors email client.

I guess the Re: has to be the first characters in the string to work?

[xb_]

lierduh,

Could you implement something in the next version that will log the actual ip into the post as poster ip instead of the email addy (in a mailing list setup) ?

I'm also having alot of work merging replies to excisting threads, for some reason alot of the emails aren't glued together in the correct thread. I would apreciate it if it can be improved.

regards

[lierduh]

Originally Posted by NietzscheKid

I don't understand. Does this hack allow me to use alt.music.pearl-jam from google but i need to find another server or what do you mean? Does anyone know or use a google newsgroup? If there's any kind soul who can give me a tipp on which news server supports google newsgroups like e.g. alt.music.xx, please give this poor woman some hints. I'd be forever in your debt.

Thank you

PS: I'd also gladly pay for a news server. The only thing that I really need to know is whether I could then use google's alt.music.xxx newsgroup to display in my forums?
I've seen google's newsgroup mentioned in this thread once and in the old hack thread also. So I assume this must be working?

Google does not own USENET. Google only archive them, that it, no more, no less.

What is USENET?
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/what-is/part1/

or a short version

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definit...213262,00.html

[lierduh]

Originally Posted by trackpads

AKkkkk, now I am getting this error-

Perhaps reading a couple of pages back can help.