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.

[flicknut]

AWS, thanks for the fix with the post time.

Is there a way to completely disable the forum thread and user's profile from being attached to the end of a message? I just deleted these variables completely, but I haven't tested it yet.

Also, when someone creates a new thread on my board, why is it imported back to my board after it's exported out? For example, here is the original thread from my board:

http://www.hdtv-info.org/forum/showthread.php?t=483

And here is the very next thread being duplicated after the import:

http://www.hdtv-info.org/forum/showthread.php?t=484

[AWS]

Originally Posted by flicknut

AWS, thanks for the fix with the post time.

Is there a way to completely disable the forum thread and user's profile from being attached to the end of a message? I just deleted these variables completely, but I haven't tested it yet.

Also, when someone creates a new thread on my board, why is it imported back to my board after it's exported out? For example, here is the original thread from my board:

http://www.hdtv-info.org/forum/showthread.php?t=483

And here is the very next thread being duplicated after the import:

http://www.hdtv-info.org/forum/showthread.php?t=484

There is also an option to not send the thread and profile link. Option 7 or 8 I think. I have that disabled and then define a default footer to attach which is the second to last option.
I've never had a problem with threads from the board being duplicated.
Do you have more than one feed going into one forum?

[flicknut]

Originally Posted by AWS

There is also an option to not send the thread and profile link. Option 7 or 8 I think. I have that disabled and then define a default footer to attach which is the second to last option.
I've never had a problem with threads from the board being duplicated.
Do you have more than one feed going into one forum?

Thanks for your help!

I only have one HDTV newsgroup going into my forum, but I changed the "No Organization Check" variable, and it stopped the duplicate messages. Are there any negatives to changing this variable?

Okay last question. How do I add a carriage return inside my default footer? I tried \n but this didn't work. Right now when someone creates a post, it puts the default footer on the same line as the username. For example, my outgoing posts look like this:

--
hdtvnutThis post originated from http://www.hdtv-info.org/forum/

[lierduh]

Originally Posted by flicknut

Also, when someone creates a new thread on my board, why is it imported back to my board after it's exported out? For example, here is the original thread from my board:

Please, go through settings at least once.

[lierduh]

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?

It is not that the connection takes so much time, it is the time it needs to insert the imported posts into the forum system. It needs to build index, find the similar threads... Normal user posts message one by one, we are 'posting' perhaps hundreds of messages in one go. If your server is slow, then it will take a long time.

[lierduh]

Originally Posted by flicknut

Thanks for your help!

Okay last question. How do I add a carriage return inside my default footer? I tried \n but this didn't work. Right now when someone creates a post, it puts the default footer on the same line as the username. For example, my outgoing posts look like this:

--
hdtvnutThis post originated from http://www.hdtv-info.org/forum/

In
includes/functions_nntp.php
find
$signature .= $nntp_settings['default_footer'] . "\n";
change it to
$signature .= "\n" . $nntp_settings['default_footer'] . "\n";

should do the trick.

[Ian Cunningham]

Originally Posted by lierduh

It is not that the connection takes so much time, it is the time it needs to insert the imported posts into the forum system. It needs to build index, find the similar threads... Normal user posts message one by one, we are 'posting' perhaps hundreds of messages in one go. If your server is slow, then it will take a long time.

Ok, cheers

I do have a wierd problem with the script at the moment, it just stops importing certain messages and it exits the while script. It does this every time it runs and I have to tell it to skip manually. Do you know why it might be doing this, or how the script can just skip it if it can't import it?

[PeterKjaer]

Hi

I´m trying to remove the "reply buttons as told in the "hacking_guide" but can't find the showthread template....anyone who can tell me where to find it?

im running 3.0.7

/peter

[esfron]

Originally Posted by Ian Cunningham

Ok, cheers

I do have a wierd problem with the script at the moment, it just stops importing certain messages...

What php version are you running ? Take a look at https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost....&postcount=801
.
.

[SEO Report]

Originally Posted by lierduh

It is not that the connection takes so much time, it is the time it needs to insert the imported posts into the forum system. It needs to build index, find the similar threads... Normal user posts message one by one, we are 'posting' perhaps hundreds of messages in one go. If your server is slow, then it will take a long time.

So If I understood you correctly, if I comment this line in functions_nntp.php

PHP Code:

// Index post for searching
build_post_index($postid, $foruminfo); 


and then use these functions (in Admin CP -> Import & Maintenance):

-> Rebuild Forum Information
-> Rebuild Similar Threads

(or perhaps Rebuild Search Index)

that will speed up the import process since the rebuild function will be called just once (at the end), is that correct?

(imported newsgroups are shown to visitors only after the import process is finished)