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.

[lierduh]

Originally Posted by Sanjiyan

Also which file do I need to download? the nntp_gateway_v2.0.zip or vb3_NNTP_Gateway_May16b.zip

The May16 release is a barebone release without the AdminCP and lack of couple of other functions.

The v2.0.1 is the full release with all the bells and wristles. I leave the May16 release in there just in case the new version breaks somehow. The May16 has been stable (...well, for 3 days now). So you should use the new one unless something is broken.

[yabba]

My gateway.php give this back from the newsserver :

1 group(s) gatewayed.

Connecting to server, server says: 200 feed.news.schlund.de InterNetNews NNRP server INN 2.3.5 ready (posting ok).

Info for rec.music.industrial at news.puretec.de:
411 No such group rec.music.industrial

:-( But the newsserver have this group, why found the gateway.php not such group ?

Greets yabba

[Erwin]

Just let us know when you update the gateway.php file - I am using the one that you posted when you started this thread.

[lierduh]

Originally Posted by Erwin

Just let us know when you update the gateway.php file - I am using the one that you posted when you started this thread.

The v2.0.1 contains the new gateway.php version.

[lierduh]

Originally Posted by yabba

My gateway.php give this back from the newsserver :



:-( But the newsserver have this group, why found the gateway.php not such group ?

Greets yabba

Unless you made a typo for the newsgroup name, it should have nothing to do with gateway.php.

Try the fault finding method described in here:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost....30&postcount=3

Send the result to your web host, politely ask them why you can not access that group from your web server.

[mcncyo]

i would also like the pop3 accont to work incomming and outgoing. I would like to put a few mailing list on my message board.

[KevinM]

The POP3 function on the VB2 version is something I used, but it was really picky about the type of POP3 email account used, and from memory nobody could work out what caused it. It was a a case of trying different POP3 account suppliers until finding one that worked.

Actually, I would appreciate a POP3 recommendation that works with this hack. My BT account has just been taken over by Yahoo and no longer works and all my oneandone accounts (who do all my hosting) also don't work.

[Imhotep]

IMHO, it would be cool if we could add variables for incoming and outgoing ports. My host allows incoming on port 119 but not outgoing. So, with my new NSP, I am experimenting with getting posts to get out to Usenet.

Giganews allows connections to ports 119,80, and 23

Am I to assume that I can search the PHP files for "119" and change them to whatever I want? This is what I have done for my first test.... changing all instances of 119 to 80. So far, no luck. I hope my host did not block ALL outgoing NNTP data. :ermm: I still have 23 left to test.

[KevinM]

I am getting this error whenever it hits a message with an attachment (with the latest script)

<b>Warning</b>: fopen("/tmp/temp.bin", "x+") - Invalid argument in <b>/home/httpd/vhosts/ukgardenforum.co.uk/httpdocs/gateway.php</b> on line <b>970</b><br />
failed create a temp file

Is this related to creating the thumbnail?

[Odoin]

I have two newsgroup feeds setup... seems to be one of the forum pulls the posts made to it back into the topic so there is double posts.. one from the local user and the same post over acting as if it was from a outside user... Any idea why it would do this on just one forum?