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 szy

I really appreciate your help.

PHP version is 4.3.10. Too old?

Szy.

No.
You should not have this problem if no scripts have been modified.

[sdsvtdriver]

I've read through this entire thread and surprised that no one else has seen this error.

This happens on the same message number repeadedly. I've removed the forum, created a new one, and initiated a download. It always stops at this message with this error:

Getting message number 567216: PHP has encountered a Stack overflow

When I adjust the message number to skip it via admin CP, it works fine and then again I get the message:

Getting message number 567237: PHP has encountered a Stack overflow

Any suggestions?

[sdsvtdriver]

On a seperate note:

I set up the gateway on another board. Instead of the attachments getting decoded, I'm getting the raw data inserted into posts.

for example:

=ybegin line=128 size=111070 name=image-4.jpg
))=J*:tpsp*+++*r*r**)*m*-,,-,,----.--./2//../411026466545578<:78;855:@:;=}>???69AB@>B<>?>)*m+-.././3//3>757>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>)?*;2,?+?-+L*,;+-;+)?*F**,-++++*********-.,/0*1+2)?*E+*,-+++**********+,*-./01)*6-+*,:-:**+?5ո

The image import works fine on the other board, but for the life of me I can't figure out why this isn't working on board #2.

Ideas?

[Ian Cunningham]

Is there any way to make this script use multiple connections, as it can be slow at importing large Newsgroups?

[SEO Report]

Originally Posted by Ian Cunningham

Is there any way to make this script use multiple connections, as it can be slow at importing large Newsgroups?

Yep, it would certainly speed up the import process on my end, too. But I'm not sure it's easily feasable

How about the ability to mark the currently ported newsgroup as "locked". This way, one can run multiple instances of gateway.php, and each instance would import a different newsgroup (skipping the currently locked newsgroups).

I know, I know. It's not what you're asking, but it will help if you're importing several ng at once, no?

[mcncyo]

Originally Posted by SEO Report

Y
How about the ability to mark the currently ported newsgroup as "locked". This way, one can run multiple instances of gateway.php, and each instance would import a different newsgroup (skipping the currently locked newsgroups).

I would like this options also. Sometimes some of my newsgroups gets alot of post all of a suden and then i don't get download from all of the groups because it takes so long to download the new groups.

[flicknut]

Is it normal for the time of the imported messages to be the time they are actually imported into the local forum rather than the time they are posted on USENET? I just installed the hack, and 3,008 messages were uploaded with the same time on each one.

[kevinrstruck]

Originally Posted by flicknut

Is it normal for the time of the imported messages to be the time they are actually imported into the local forum rather than the time they are posted on USENET? I just installed the hack, and 3,008 messages were uploaded with the same time on each one.

Yes, this is normal since the times displayed are the times the post was posted to your forums. If you have 3800 messages, most likely that took a while so the older messages will be a couple minutes or more older than the newest messages.

[AWS]

There is an option to set post time to the time it was posted to usenet. Option number 11, I beleive, on usenet_settings.php.

[sdsvtdriver]

anyone else have issues with pictures?

I pull down pictures from a drag racing usenet forum. They come across fine as attachments in the forums, but they pictures appear to have been decoded improperly. There are colorbars and distortion in the images. If I pull the pictures down with a newsreader, they look fine.

Ideas?

example:
http://www.domesticmuscle.com/dmforu...read.php?t=663