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.

[lamilein]

a GREAT release, thank you

[observer]

I installed everything (latest version) and have the following problem:

When I want to run gateway.php?debug=1, it tells me that another instance is already running. No posts are imported.

So - where's my error?

[netearth]

Hi there

Like the patch! Quick question though, is there anyway that in the settings of the "Edit Newsgroup Settings" that the Prefix could have a wildcard? REason for asking is that I have a email list that I subscribe to, and their subject line is [abc e:01234] kind oif thing, the first part is always the same abc e: but the number changes!!

Or as teh header of the email has a Reply to address of the list, can that be set anywhere so as to stop spam from entering the thread!?!?!?

Thanks,
Chris

[John Diver]

Hey,
Can someone help please.

This is the first time I am trying to use anything like this.

I want to add the messages from alt.politics.bush to my forum.
Can someone tell me if I can do this and help please?

I am getting the following error:

Not connected
Not connected
<html><head><title>Iran War Information Forum Database Error</title><style type="text/css"><!--.error { font: 11px tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; }--></style></head>
<body></table></td></tr></table></form>
<blockquote><p class="error">&nbsp;</p><p class="error"><b>There seems to have been a slight problem with the Iran War Information Forum database.</b><br />
Please try again by pressing the <a href="javascript:window.location=window.location;" >refresh</a> button in your browser.</p><p class="error">An E-Mail has been dispatched to our <a href="mailto:tmzmod@hotmail.com">Technical Staff</a>, who you can also contact if the problem persists.</p><p class="error">We apologise for any inconvenience.</p><form><textarea class="error" rows="15" cols="100" wrap="off">Database error in vBulletin 3.0.7:

Invalid SQL: UPDATE nntp_settings
SET value = WHERE varname = 'last_postid'

mysql error: You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near 'WHERE varname = 'last_postid'' at line 2

mysql error number: 1064

Thanks very much

[lierduh]

Originally Posted by John Diver

Hey,
Can someone help please.

This is the first time I am trying to use anything like this.

I want to add the messages from alt.politics.bush to my forum.
Can someone tell me if I can do this and help please?

I am getting the following error:



Thanks very much

You have an empty forum. Make one post and you will be fine.

[John Diver]

Thanks for the quick reply

I am still getting not connected:

Gateway version 2.3.2 1 group(s) gatewayed.
Could not connect to NNTP-server. (Connection refused (61))

Not connected
Posting Message 'Description of this forum' from admin. Result:
Not connected
Not connected

[babulgogoi]

Hi,

I could find nothing that does the following changes!!!

can someone pls help me? screenshot attached.

Bg
=======

Newsgroup/M-list E-mail : the email address to send a message to mailing list.
Server: A pop3 email server. One dedicated email address to receive emails from list.
Username: pop3 email user name
Password: pop3 email account password
Sender:
Set to 'use_real_email': will use the member's real email address in the From: header
Set to 'One Name <a_email@a_domain.com>': All posts will use this as the From: header
Leave this empty: posts will use a randomly generated email address to prevent spam
prefix: Set this to the mailing list title. Eg. if the mailing list always have
[Newbie] in the subject line, enter [Newbie] as the prefix. If you leave
this blank, all messages will be imported.
lastmsg: no need to set

[John Diver]

Hey,
I thought the server was meant to be pop3 server?

Then some people said its a newgroup server?

Could someone tell me what should go in there please?

Thanks
John

[babulgogoi]

ok, I got it!! thanks.

[babulgogoi]

while trying to run: http://www.asiasrc.org/posts/gateway.php?debug=1

got this eror

Fatal error: Call to undefined function: globalize() in /home/asiasrc/public_html/posts/gateway.php on line 73

?? any idea??